Filed under: fashion, makeup, streaky tan, sunless tanning lotion | Tags: australian gold, cream, creamy gelato, derma dark, dermadark, fake, gel, indoor, lotion, tan, tanning
I’ve used the Australian Gold Creamy Gelato tanning lotion a few times now. I’m not sure I’ll buy it again, but here’s the info.
Fragrance
The fragrance is allegedly “melon smoothie,” but I find it’s more like a cross between fake lime and something non-food that’s vaguely acidic. The fragrance earns only a 3 out of 10 from me for its artificial scent.
Self Tanner – DermaDark Blend
The tanner itself is quite good and not streaky. The tan isn’t as dark as I was hoping it would be (given that this is a ‘bronzer’), but it was nice and even and not at all orange. I would recommend layering this one. It gets sticky if you use too much, but apply thin layers once or twice a day and you’ll eventually have a nice tan.
Moisturizer
This is more of a gel than a lotion, so it’s not super-moisturizing. You’ve got to be careful to not use too much, or it dries before soaking in and gets sticky. I give this a 3 out of 10 for moisturizing capability.
Ingredients
This lotion does not have parabens, and is one of the first paraben-free products Australian Gold has come out with. That, I like, but the ingredients label overall isn’t any better or worse than other tanning products IMO. I give this product a 5/10 for ingredients. There’s no tingle to this lotion (I don’t like tingle anyway, but if you do, consider yourself advised) and it allegedly has 92 minerals added to help you get a better tan on an indoor tanning bed. The primary reason I chose this lotion was for the DermaDark bronzer, with which I was satisfied, but by which I was not overly impressed.
Overall Rating
Overall, this is a nice lotion, but is probably overpriced. The only really compelling reason to choose this lotion is if DHA-based tanners don’t work for you. Next time, I’ll probably get a traditional lotion rather than using the DermaDark gel again.
Filed under: makeup | Tags: career, dream, dreams, following your heart, inspiration, kandee johnson, makeup artist, overcoming adversity, youtube
Wow, you guys. I am normally a cynical bitch, but my heart has officially been touched by Kandee Johnson. I just watched one of her makeup tutorials on YouTube and liked her bubbly demeanor so much that I subscribed to her channel. On her channel, she’s posted a 20-minute video of her life story. She has definitely experienced a lot of hardships, but the amazing part is that she is now inspiring others to achieve their dreams, no matter how seemingly small – in her case, makeup and hair tutorials on YouTube – or how big. I highly recommend this video if you’re feeling downtrodden or discouraged and you just want to see some unicorns shitting rainbows in order to cheer yourself up. (Kandee doesn’t swear because she doesn’t think it’s pretty – and she’s right – but my dream involves grittier language and demeanor, so I’m going with that.) Anyway, without further ado, here’s the video.
Filed under: makeup | Tags: contouring, how to contour, instant facelift, petrilude
Thanks to the blog of Petrilude for tipping me off on this amazing video on contouring! All the secrets are in this video… it’s exaggerated for beginners so it’s really super helpful.
Filed under: makeup | Tags: black label lippie, karen stark, lip gloss, silk naturals
Silk Naturals is the brand of makeup I use. It’s a mineral makeup company run by a woman named Karen who started by making one product in her home and selling it online. The first product was the transparent Perfecting Powder, a loose powder to mask slight imperfections and add a healthy glow to skin. Now, Karen sells hundreds of products, including loose powders in all varieties and colors, eyeshadows and eyeliners, lip glosses, beauty treatments, and more.
Her fans are super-devoted and I’m not the only one blogging about her. Check out these swatches of the Silk Naturals lip glosses (not all of them are represented – Karen’s always coming out with new colors). Faith is another, um, faithful fan of Silk Naturals, and she often blogs about the products, too.
I highly, highly recommend the black label lip glosses. The formula is absolutely heavenly. I love the Devil’s Food Cake flavor the most. It also comes in original (vanilla) and peppermint, and in colored versions. But the clear Devil’s Food Cake one is… well, I’m salivating just thinking about it.
Another SN fan indulges.
Filed under: art, fashion, makeup | Tags: Mineralista, Skittles collection, xsparkage
Girls! I have to tell you about this! I read xsparkage today, and she found The Most Amazing Eyeshadow Collection Ever and it is called the Skittles collection from The Mineralista!! Swatches are available on both sites. I am super excited to go as Rainbow Brite for Halloween!! …Perhaps I’ve said too much…
Filed under: makeup
I just love reading Faith’s blog. She’s charismatic. And she talks about makeup a lot.
Cleaning your make-up brushes shouldn’t be a chore. But it is.
Let’s admit, all together now: most women are slovenly swine when it comes to our makeup brushes, and frankly, the idea of a muddy pig putting on makeup just cracks me up. For other (yet similar) reasons, the concept of human makeup is ridiculous, as well. Anyway, I digress.
The point is, dirty makeup brushes are disgusting and cause the dreaded acne blemishes the makeup is designed to cover in the first place. So, you ask, how do you suggest I reform my brush habits? What do you propose I do, exactly?
I’ll tell you what. And you’ll listen to me, because I have made my expensive Prescriptives makeup brush last until just this very week (when its death throes, regrettably, became apparent) since purchasing it in 2003 for a then-princely sum of money. Here’s how I took care of that brush:
1. Washed it every time I remembered to do so (varied from 1x-4x/month) with Dr. Bronner’s soap, rinsed it, then squeezed the excess water out of it. And laid it on a towel to dry. And that’s all.
Yes, it has to be Dr. Bronner’s. Or another natural soap. It can’t be shampoo, which is actually detergent. It can’t be dish soap, which is also detergent. And it can’t be regular liquid handsoaps, which are also detergent. Are you getting the picture? It has to be Dr. Bronners, or Zum Bar, or something of that ilk. One of those froofy yuppie dirty hippie soaps.
Though my Prescriptives brush was synthetic, I also own natural hair brushes, and this works even better on those.
Recently, I’ve discovered that there are such things as brush cleaners for in between soap cleanings (apparently, I live under a rock). I have never used one, but I am curious if they condition the brushes as is claimed on the bottles, for one, and what the heck are they made of, for two?
If you can answer my questions, please leave a comment. Thanks.
Filed under: facebook, makeup, regret, sex change, streaky tan, sunless tanning lotion
Two of the blogs I read regularly, one of which pertains primarily to makeup and the other of which pertains occasionally to makeup, both posted entries about makeup-related regrets today.
- Eyeshadow primer from Target. (I recommend Bare Escentuals if you can afford it, and Origins if you can’t.) It’s 1/3 the price but it’s also 1/3 the quality of the department store brands.
- Mascara from just about any major brand. (I recommend Ecco Bella.) Dries out my lashes and doesn’t come off easily. The Ecco Bella mascara is so easy to apply and it comes right off with jojoba oil, and it conditions my lashes. Be careful to get a nice, liquidy one – sometimes if they are on the shelf too long, they dry out.
- Clinique acne skin care line (awful for sensitive skin; I recommend Aubrey Organics instead). I turned red, itchy, blotchy, painful, broke out worse, bad, bad, bad.
- Joico shampoo and conditioner (overpriced and smell chemical; I recommend ShiKai). Incidentally, I have heard that it is best to avoid using shampoos and conditioners that contain silicones, because apparently they coat the hair shaft and make it shiny, but they also make the hair more brittle and prone to breakage/splitting.
- Lush products (I never use them before they go bad and they’re awfully expensive; I love them, but need them to come in smaller containers).
- Okay. Never, ever, ever buy Suncoat products. Except the nail polishes. The eyeliner and mascara sucked ass and you know, the cream eyeshadow wasn’t horrible, but it was waaaay overpriced. If you want good natural makeup, there is no better place than Silk Naturals.
- Most self-tanners because I usually turn into an orange streaky freak from using them. BUT, I really like the Australian Gold products and I like the Victoria’s Secret Bare Bronze face tanner and I loved the Bath and Body Works gradual tan in the signature scents until it was discontinued. I have heard a lot of good stuff about Fake Bake so I might try that soon. Also: Mystic Tan is the shit, and I highly recommend getting Mystic done at a salon, but never, ever buy the home products because the spray bottle leaks (see previous post on this topic).
Okay, right, so that’s my initial list of makeup products that I regret buying. I am sure there are others, but I felt the need to warn my fellow consumers away from those particular products.
