Kiss and Makeup?

Ever Think About How Much Makeup We Waste?

I figured I’d do some quick research and this article by Bustle did the work for me.

“According to a recent study conducted by Vaseline, 77% of women use less than 10 beauty items regularly, despite spending money on about 100 different products over the course of the year.”

The article goes on to say that this study was taken in the UK, but that type of data is most likely incredibly reflective of the United States’ trend.

I don’t even want to think about the possible expired product I have on the top of my dresser. For whatever reason, I tend to keep foundations I don’t even like and old mascaras thinking I’ll use/need them again.

It’s a shame to think about the waste from all the packaging of makeup that we produce. Just like any other trash, it would make more sense to somehow recycle these bottles/tubes/etc.

But no one is gonna go through the effort to clean out alllllllllll of the foundation or concealer from their bottles to properly recycle it.

Hopefully someday soon, more companies will be more aware of this and create products where the actual makeup product can be replaced, but the tube or bottle it’s contained in can stay and be reused.

Brands like, Kjaer Weis, a Danish makeup brand, are already ahead of the game on this one.

Lisa Eldridge, my favorite makeup artist, preforms a bunch of organic and natural brands in a video she did in 2016:

What’s your opinion about natural makeup? How much do you care about getting rid of your old makeup? I’d love to know! Let me know in the comments.

So uh….Kat Von D?

What do we think about her?? If anyone knows anything about the modern makeup industry, you’ll know that Kat Von D is a huge controversial matter.

Born in Mexico, Kat Von D is known for her Latina background with her very edgy, gothy style of tattoos and makeup. Her family and her moved to California when she was four years old. She spent her childhood learning the piano and spending time with her grandmother. She got her first tattoo when she was fourteen, and then dropped out of school when she was sixteen to become a tattoo artist.

She became famous due to her appearing in a tattoo show, Miami Ink, then later developing her own show, LA Ink.

In 2008, she launched her first product in her makeup line in Sephora, and has been producing makeup ever since.

Anyways, you guys kinda know that stuff, right? Well, currently, she is married and just had a baby with her (I believe) 2nd official husband, Rafael Reyes. The entire uproar is that she chose to not vaccinate her child, and continues to choose to raise him as completely vegan.

I thought a bit about if I should include my opinion or not, but I’m going to leave this open ended. And by that I mean, what is your opinion about separating the artist from the art?

I am hoping, desperately, that most of you will understand that vaccinating a brand new baby is an incredibly important aspect of modern day society, so the question here is not about that.

I’ve watched videos upon videos of people saying they are quite literally boycotting Kat Von D beauty.

So I’ll leave it up to you? Sound off in the comments!

Makeup — How Do You Wear It?

Good evening gays and gals (and of course everyone else in between), I’m writing to you tonight to talk about all the different types/styles of makeup a person can wear.

For those of you who may not know, hello! My name is Shannon, and I live in Massachusetts. I’m a full time college student and part time retail worker, so I hardly ever have time for actually spending much time on my makeup, but when I do, I think it’s super fun to play around with!

The photo above is of me totally done up! I was actually practicing for my Valentines Day makeup I was planning on doing for a date night out with the boyfriend. I really liked what I had going here– nice, fresh skin, a bit of warm tones on the eyes, the liner was definitely there but nothing too huge, and then of course the red lip ties it all together.

The red outfit was this red dress I bought from Express!

But, as we all know, a red lip and liner moment isn’t always the look. Quite frankly, I normally spend the most time on my face makeup, throw on a little brow and mascara and I’m out the door. Anyone else that way too?

Anyways, here’s a few other pictures of my “actually did my makeup” moments —

This makeup was me practicing for my New Years Eve makeup. It sort of turned out like this on December 31st!

These last two pics are of the same makeup, just a different filter on each one. I thought this was such a cool representation of how editing a photo of makeup can make it look SO different.

I know a lot of famous Instagram models and YouTubers/Beauty Influencers use apps like FaceTune and PhotoShop (I’m looking at you, James Charles), so when you think about the actual skill that is needed to achieve such cool makeup, don’t forget about the editing that might be happening as well.

Makeup, luckily, always washes off at the end of the day. I encourage everyone who’s reading this to try something new tomorrow! Wear that lipstick you never wear, wake up ten minutes earlier to perfect a killer liner — the world is your oyster! Good luck and keep slaying, queens!

Fake, Luxury Makeup?

Soooooo….. Let’s talk about fake, intentionally duped makeup?

I found out all about this brand through a beauty influencer/makeup creator/public figure Jeffree Star.

When I say I was SHOOK by this, I’m not lying. Jeffree Star is known for being involved in a lot of drama, so when I saw he invited Bhad Bhabie to come over to his house and drop off some fake makeup, I died.

The entire concept of the CopyCat makeup line is to literally rip off the more expensive, popular makeup brands and try to recreate their makeup as best as they can.

Brands like Stila and Anastasia Beverly Hills are major brands on the site that they dupe, and in the video, Jeffree basically says they’re almost the same, for the fraction of the price.

This whole conversation about “fake” makeup can get really heated as a lot of the brands who do create the “real” makeup spend thousands of hours and dollars to make a name for themselves. When another brand simply copies the idea with a different, cheaper formula, it sort of gives a bad taste to the mouth.

What do you think?? Sound off below in the comments!

Fragrance in Cosmetics? Yay or Yuck!?

Let’s talk fragrance, people. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of smelly makeup? Grandma’s old lipstick, right? Absolutely. The sad part is that same freaking smell is still in the Maybelline, L’Oreal, and Revlon lipsticks today!

So what though, right? Maybe now you’re thinking of that sugar cookie scented lip gloss that you LOVE putting on. Or maybe you own one of those peach or chocolate scented eye shadow pallets that came out like last year or something. Those actually smell kind of pleasant, I get that.

Maybe your sugar cookie lip gloss and chocolate smelling eye shadow isn’t horrible for you, but what about scented base products? I’m talking scented primers, foundations, concealers, and stuff that is being spread all over your skin that will be on there for like, possibly 10+ hours.

So anyone who’s anyone in the makeup industry has talked, at length, about this foundation. I personally own it, which is why I feel completely comfortable talking about it today! Besides it being a pretty damn good foundation, L’Oreal’s very obvious use of fragrance in this foundation has raised a lot of red flags in the industry, and understandably so.

This lovely lady that hopefully some of you know, Tati Westbrook, made a whole review video of this foundation.

She mentions briefly that she personally doesn’t think that the fragrance is that bad, which I can also understand, but as someone who is coming from only using very toned down fragranced foundations in the past, WOW!

I have oily/combo skin which I find this foundation holds up fine with. I don’t quite see all the hubbub about it as I feel my Revlon Colorstay definitely does a better job actually staying on my skin, but this one has a nice shade that matches my pale skin and lasts pretty average on my skin.

My number one beef with this one is the scent! On my skin, it lasts all day. Luckily it has not given me a headache yet, but I could definitely see how those who are sensitive to smells could really, really hate this one. It’s definitely a perfume scent that, if wasn’t in a foundation, would actually smell quite pleasant. But the thing is that it’s slowly sinking into my pores all day which I am not a fan of.

If you are someone who knows that fragrance often breaks you out, don’t want to deal with that possibility of having a headache, and are just plain not into having fragrance in any of your skincare or makeup, I would say this one is a hard pass. It’s no Dior smell, but it’s definitely not the best.

I’ll probably use up the bottle and then go back to my tried and true Revlon Colorstay.

Girl, Where’d You Get Those Nails Done?!

Hey queens, writing to you today because I NEED to talk about this post a fellow “beauty blogger” threw up a few weeks back allllll about nail care/getting your nails done. (She was a former nail tech!)

The entire post is about the entire process of getting a gel and/or “regular” manicure. She talks a lot about all the myths that come along with getting your nails done, and I have a whole experience I can share on my end! I’ve had my nails professionally done a total of two times. It’s been recently! So don’t think I tried once when I was 16 and hated it or something. Right now I am completely nail-ked (naked, ha, get the joke? ….anyways) and here’s the whole reason why:

I love the girl I go see for my nails. She is so sassy, kind, and downright personable. Her name is Yaniz and she always asks me to call her Yankee. Cute, right? Anyways, the first time I ever had my nails done was with her and she was so excited because she loved how I was so curious about how everything even works. Since I was an acrylic virgin, she spent a bit of time cleaning up my natural nails and making them ready to go for the full set. She explained to me, in depth, of what exactly she was doing each step which I found the coolest thing. I’m a geek, I know.

Here’s a pic of those baby things:

They were real cute and a soft nude color which I loved. The only sad thing is they really only lasted about 10 days total. I went about a week before I scheduled another appointment and she actually asked about how long they lasted.

It was so cool to see that she genuinely cared about the fact that they didn’t last that long, and said that she had gotten that feedback from other girls as well. She said she was going to try a different bonding solution this time!

This is the final result:

These bad boys lasted for weeeeeeeeeeeeks, but GIRL IF THEY WRECKED MY NAILS? Unfortunately (or fortunately, I don’t know,) having these nails on for about 3 weeks did an absolute number on my real nails.

I have a feeling it’s because I had never experienced fake nails being on for so long, so having my natural nails be so thin made me nervous.

On my left thumbnail, when I went to remove the remaining nails that were not already popped off (from various activities,) my entire damn nail just about ripped off. It’s hard to describe in words, and I am NOT showing y’all a picture, but when I tell you my nail is a little messed up right now….yeah…

Do I think this was Yankee’s fault? Absolutely not. I think that there definitely was a possibility of having my natural nail underneath be too frail when I bumped that nail, causing the tear to happen or something like that.

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT: I fully believe that, if treated correctly, acrylic (fake nails) won’t necessarily “wreck” your natural nails underneath. I’m agreeing with my girl Munchkin.

I made my nail appointment for next week, lol.

Let Me Paint a Picture for You:

“The substance polyaminopropyl biguanide (PHMB) has been banned in personal care products since January 2015. PHMB is a preservative that is used in for example makeup removers, body lotions and creams. The substance is suspected to be cancer-causing, it is detrimental to the environment and it is allergenic.”

Woah, right? So I just want to know why this stuff is still on the shelves. Luckily, we have YouTube for that.

A lovely lady by the name of Maria Schlossberg did an entire video last year about this. It’s really fascinating to watch if you have the time.

In short, we find out that this particular ingredient, PHMB, is in more products than we may think, and that it’s used for sanitary, preservative purposes. That doesn’t take away the fact that it’s potentially cancer causing, but who cares, right? Wrong!! We should all care about what we’re putting on our faces each day. I am a huge advocate for cruelty free, vegan brands in terms of makeup and skincare brands. I think we can always do better, and we should do better.

For some food for thought, here are some drugstore, cruelty free brands that you may want to look into:

These makeup brands are cruelty-free and budget friendly
Is it ironic that the beauty industry that aims to let us look like a better version of ourselves has a very dark side to it? Currently, there are global efforts – with endorsements from top celebrities – bringing awareness to the public in hopes of putting an end to cosmetic animal testing by beauty companies.

Artist in Focus:

Lisa Eldridge

Based out of the UK, our lovely lady has been working as a makeup artist for over twenty years. She has a YouTube channel where she’s been teaching her viewers about makeup tips and tricks for around eight years now.

She used to run a super interesting blog — Lisa Eldridge Make Up — that she no longer keeps up with anymore. She has pictures of all of her work she’s done on celebrities and others on her blog and her Instagram.

Her creation of her own lipstick line, rings, and earrings have exploded and have all sold out worldwide. They were limited edition collections, so those beautiful pieces were only released once. She has stated that her lipstick line will be returning sometime this year which is very exciting for her fans.

Lisa is a calming, eloquent makeup artist that loves making her clients skin looking flawless and can blend color expertly.

She’s one of my favorite artists, and I encourage you to visit her YouTube channel and listen to her relaxing voice while she works her magic with makeup!

Makeup Can Be Gross…

Depending on what skin-type you have can depend on what you like to look for in makeup. Maybe you’re aware that salicylic acid is good for breakouts or that hyaluronic acid is good for maintaining hydration in your skin. But what about the bad stuff?

Thanks to this article, we have a lot to look out for that’s commonly found in makeup.

12 Ingredients to Avoid in Makeup and Skincare Products

Perhaps take a look at your favorite makeup products and see if any of these are in them.

As an advocate for aware-consumers, I suggest looking more into what makes your makeup tick. Are you obsessed with how smooth your foundation or primers go on? Are you aware that the reason for that is almost always because of the large amount of silicone in them? How much do you care that silicone is not a natural ingredient?

Another source of some light reading can really help anyone who may want to learn more about your smoothing primer you put on your t-zone everyday. I might try to take a few days off of mine….

The Oogie Boogies of Makeup

Do you think makeup is healthy? Are we using the right rules and regulations, even in today’s day in age? What should we do, as consumers, to delve into these issues?

As we all know, for the most part, cosmetics can be/are different than skincare products. Skincare is essentially just that, products that can help ‘issues’ we may have with our skin texture, hydration, acne, scaring, and the list goes on and on. Makeup is meant to beautify thyself. We use it to ‘cover up’ and ‘define’ our features. So, if we are very obviously using this on top of our skin, what should we really worry about? Well, what about the working woman that wears makeup upwards of 10 to 12 hours a day? What about the man that likes to wear a little concealer, but never wipes it off at the end of the day? What about drag queens that load on the makeup for their looks? Yes, we should worry about the ingredients. What you don’t know might scare ya.

Please take this super quick poll and be honest! Do you think your makeup is “healthy” for you? Do you know what ingredients can be harmful to the skin or may irritate your eyes? Let me know!