FOTD: lets see if silica microspheres make a difference...

Still 30 outside, everyone sweats like a pig, no makeup holds - smart people wear their tinted moisturizers and sunscreens and I'm still trying to get the makeup to last at least until I get from home to work (15 minutes walking). I have to go read the Indonesian/Filipino girls blogs, I cant imagine how they do it... must be some very potent primer they use. I don't use any, just the jojoba-oil to moisturize after the morning shower - I guess the primer really makes a difference.

This time I applied EDM's semi-matte Olive Fair wet, by dabbing it over with a moist (E.L.F. Studio powder) brush - effect was instant, face became very shiny. Not the result I was looking for but nevertheless, worth a try. Then the contouring (EDM's Fairly Light Neutral o-glo), DIY blush (see last post) and on top the silica microspheres (TKB Trading sells it).
After arriving to work let me say - it looks no different from yesterday. Except that the face stings a little... Sweat conquers all.
On the eyes I used the E.L.F. eye primer & liner sealer, dabbing it over with some foundation. Colors used are: TKB Trading's Echo in inner corners, The Conservatorie's Gold Earth on the lid, TKB Trading's Foliage in the crease and outer corner. E.L.F.'s " featherproof" (actually says so on the pencil) eyepencil to fill out the eyebrows.

I'm doing lots of neutral eye-do's recently, must be the Make-up Store magazine... they had some very nice 50s looks in their last issue (see issue No. 13).

EOTD neutral

I tried to make a blush for a friend. It turned out rather good but I'm not so sure it suites her... for me it's perfect. Too bad I failed to write down all I put into it, main ingredients are TKB eyeshadow base and Strawberry, some green, purple, black and golden pigments too.

On these pics I've tried contouring, putting the darker shade on the temples, just under the cheekbones and on the chin and jawline, using the E.L.F. foundation brush from the Studio kit.

Foundi is EDM's Olive Fair in semi-matte and for contouring I used Fairly Light Neutral. There's a bit of difference in the shades of my face and neck so I think I overdid it with the contouring. My DIY blush-mix is used both on lids and cheeks. The color looks very subtle on the eyes, for a change I did the lower lashline too - with E.L.F.'s eye pencil and covered it with the eyeshadow, using the E.L.F 's small precision brush. It's 33 degrees today so the pencil feels even too soft today, usually it's quite hard. Dont buy it, it's crap - impossible to make a thin line. Same pencil is used on the eyebrows. Pics are taken immediately after application and the makeup was gone in an hour: its unbearably hot outside and I sweat in enormous quantities. Terrible.

This is 7 hrs later after an entire day of sweating. My skin feels sticky, I need a bath...
Isesegatud põsepuna toon on väga kena mu nahal, sihuke tagasihoidlik roosakas. Kahtlustan, et K. tumedam nahk vajab midagi särtsakamat...

At work

Colleague: Hi, nice to see you back from vacation.
Me: Hello to you too.
Colleague: Is that a new dress, and shoes?
Me: Why yes, thank you for noticing.
Colleague: But you know, those white pantyhose you have on do not go well with your dress...
Me: Pantyhose? What pantyhose?!?

Yup, I'm still just as pale as before my vacation... The cool bit - I love it! I have managed not to burn and my skin still has the even coloring, no red lines, marks or blotches!

Nivea SPF 50 sunscreen does work but I shudder to think of what it consists of...

E.L.F. Studio line brush kit

Finally the set arrived - took it some months... The trick to get the E.L.F. 's wonderful 50, 60 and 75 % sales offers in Europe can be described in two words: custom purchase. Too bad there are bound to be some communication glitches: this explains the 2 kabukis from the ordinary line. There's also the additional shipping cost close to 20 USD but it's still woth it., especially if one orders several sets :D. I do not understand why the European E.L.F. office never offers such good deals. It might even help to deal with the UK prices which are twice to US's.

When bought on sale this set really is a rather good buy. Stinks at first, a lot (the plastic case stinks the worst) but the brushes will be scent-free in couple of days. Fan brush seems pretty useless since it's a bit too soft and cannot be used for removing eyeshadow residue.

There have been some changes in the overall design cause the flat-top powder brush in this set has a longer handle then the one I bought earlier this year. All brushes seem usable but I really do not know what to do with the foundation brush or the fan brush. All brushes are very soft and do not shed although some of them have one or two hairs poking out but those can be removed easily, just use the scissors.

The mineral line kabuki brush (right) is something else: stinks, sheds, possibly bleeds and scratches like a true brush from hell. I also suspect it eats the powder. It's in no way related to the beautiful and heavenly kabuki brush of the studio series (left). Don't buy the mineral series kabuki! Keegi soovib veidi kraapivat kabukit? Anna aga teada, ärin ära, odavalt - 50 kr tk.

I'll keep them in jars and not in their case, more comfortable to use. I'll take the brush holder out again when I'll travel.

PS! on July 6th E.L.F offered an all-over store discount of 60% from 12 to 18 pm! Amazing... Not the UK store, naturally.

Väga hea pintslikomplekt algajale ja edasijõudnule. Hea kvaliteet ja kui õnnestub E.L.F.i- soodukas ära kasutada, ka üliodav. Mineraalkosmeetika jaoks sobib suurepäraselt, mineraalpuudri pealekandmiseks sobib lame (flat-top) puudripintsel väga hästi. Suur puudripintsel ei ole meigipõhja tegemiseks kõige parem, puuder lendab minema - sobib paremini päikesepuudri ja särapuudri pealekandmiseks. Lame (flat-top) puudripintsel kannab puudri peale katvamalt (loe: paksemalt) kui Studio-seeria ülipehme kabuki. Kabukiga saab õhema, läbikumavama tulemuse. Silmapintslid pole ka pahad, haaravad pigmente hästi ja paigutavad laule, puuduseks on vaid keskmise suurusega silmapintsli puudumine, selle asemel saab ehk peitepuudripintslit kasutada.

Lehvikpintsel tundub mõttetu (väidetavalt kasutatakse silma alla pudenenud lauvärvi eemaldamiseks või väga intensiivse põsepuna pealekandmiseks), samuti ei oska ma midagi peale hakata selle viltuse foundation brush'iga - võibolla sobib kontuurimiseks (kusjuures sobibki! nina ja lõuga on sellega päris hea teha). Põsepunapintsel on veidi imeliku nurgelise kujuga, tipus on nurk, samuti on ta harjumatult väike (väga pehme, sobib täppistööks). Pintslikott haiseb alguses päris vastikult, seda on vaja veidi tuulutada. Mineral-seeria kabukid tuleks ostmata jätta, võrreldes Studio omaga on need ikka väga karedad. Samas - mõned just eelistavad karedaid, search me. Uskumatu aga hind on neil sama.

Hair conditioners

The trouble with my hair is it gets too greasy too soon and I have to wash the hair every day. This is of cource very stressing for the hair and continues to irritate the scalp even more. Conditioners are a must, otherwise the hair will soon resemble a felt.

Recently bought the all natural Sante Brilliant Hair hair conditioner - I can't really say anything for or against it. It has brilliant reviews and comes from a famous eco-brand. I guess for me it's just decent. I probably could do with a cheaper one, this one was almost 100 kr which is a bit steep for something as trivial as hair conditioner. It seems to not last long though - a month and the tube is already half empty.

See tundub mulle sihuke keskmik - ei midagi halba aga samas ei pane ka rõõmust üles-alla hüppama. Lõhn on hea ja koostisosad inimsõbralikud. Töötab.

Been travelling a little and as everybody knows, hair-care products tend to be heavy and therefore I usually do not bother to pack them.

Wonderful opportunity to try out new stuff. The first is Charles Worthington's leave in conditioner for damaged hair. Seems to be fine, hair is easily combable and does not feel heavy. It's a bit pricier, 5.49£ per tube and a little goes a long way. Contains lots of silicones and other interesting ingredients so by no means is this a nature product. It smells nice and is very easy to apply. I think I'd like to have the Balancing Act dry shampoo too - could come very handy during the summer trips. Boots - here I come!

See on väga hea asi. Ideaalne neil päevil, kui tunned et ei viitsi balsami juuste sisse mätsimise, toime ootamise ja väljaloputamise peale aega raisata. Tõin endale ühe inglismaalt kaasa. Naftat ja muud jama täis nagu vana põrguline kuid töötab. Tuleks panna vaid juustesse (otstesse) ning hoiduda nahale määrimisest. Aitab igasugustest pesemisjärgsetest pusadest edukalt lahti saada.

The one I'd like to warn the general public about is this product - the Black Orchid Bergamot herbal hair conditioner - this is almost pure mineral oil. Not usable on European hair, I guess it would only be usable for very dry and hard textured afro hair. It's basically a pot of blue grease. This you cannot rinse out - this one has to be washed out of the hair. Took me 3 times to finally get the grease out.

Tõepoolest jubedaim juuksetoode mis eales ette sattunud... pesin juuksed ära ja ei saanud aru, miks nad ometi juba ära ei kuiva ja ikka veel nii märjad tunduvad kuni mulle koitis, et nad on rasvast täiesti sorgus! järgnes kahekordne peapesu... alles ülejärgmisel päeval sain juuksed päris puhtaks. See toode on afrojuustele, krussis ja kuivadele - neil arvatavasti läheks sellist õlivanni teinekord vaja. Kui toodet ennast googeldasin, oli üks lehekülgedest vanglapoe inventory-list...

PS! Boots' should be having a sale on the Vosene dandruff shampoo - a pound per bottle. The Brotherhood of Perpetual Snowfall (meaning dad and bro) are definitely getting some.

Vosene on inglise šampoon, mida toodetakse juba vist 40ndatest alates. Lõhn on selline "herbal" kuid sisu vaevalt et seda on. Töötab ning odavam kui Head&Shoulders mida mu rahvas tavaliselt ostab.