Make up Brands...Drugstore vs. Department Store

I buy a lot of make up...a lot. I've probably used them all, from Covergirl and Maybelline to MAC and Estee Lauder. I have my favorites and there are some times where I've returned certain brands (like Nars or Almay) because they promise one thing or another and have a completely different result.

I'm very picky when it comes to foundation, probably because when I was pregnant with my son, my face did a 180 and became super, mega, oily (Dr's say it was because of all the male hormones counteracting with mine, while I was pregnant). I found that the best foundation for me is MAC Studio Fix and to set it, I use MAC's Mineralized Skinfinish

Now I know the price is a bit high for MAC, but the way I see it is, I spend $25 for a foundation that is going to last me approximately 5 months. So basically I'm spending $5 a month on foundation. The mineralized powder, lasts me about 7 months, so again I divide it by that.

I've tried using drugstore foundations, like Covergirl, Revlon, Maybelline, but I've noticed that I've had to add more to my face, to have the same coverage as MAC, which means I'm running out of the foundation faster, making me spend more $$ to buy more foundation. So in the end, I spend the same amount of money on a department store foundation.

However, when it comes to mascara, blush, lip gloss and lipsticks, I will go, hands down, to a drugstore brand. I've again used the expensive ones only to find that they do the same job as a drugstore brand. For example, my favorite mascara is Covergirl's Lash Blast. The formula is thick, it doesn't smear, it doesn't flake and it really does volumize and define your lashes. Same with their lip glosses and blushes.

I know not all people have the same thoughts on which brands of make up are better, but everyone has to experiment and see what works best for them!

So, what's your favorite brand of make up?

~ t

Birchbox and Twistband Hair Ties

Heard of Birchbox? Me either until about 2hrs ago! I was reading another blog and saw that the blogger has a monthly subscription to receive beauty goodies. Apparently for $10 a month (you can cancel anytime, unless you sign up for the yearly subscription), you get a box full of sample sized beauty goodies!

I don't know about you, but I'm all into getting beauty goodies! The best part of this beauty goody box, is that you get to try different samples of products (all brand names) and decide for yourself if you want to purchase the full size product or not. How cool is that!? I would much rather get samples and try them out, than purchase the full size and be disappointed by it (although I have no problem returning any product I don't like).

Now, on this same blog I was reading, the blogger had received her monthly goody box and included was the Twistband Hair Ties, if you go to the Birchbox site and look under: shop, hair and then styling products, you'll see the Twistband. If you order 2 or more from Birchbox, shipping is free! I ordered them, because 1- since becoming a mom, my son is constantly pulling at my hair, 2- I hardly have any time to style my hair and 3- the Twistband site, claims that the hairbands won't leave marks on your head/hair (big plus for me); I'm hoping that they stay put and don't slide down. I'll review the Twistband hair ties once I receive and have tried them out!

So... I still haven't decided if I should subscribe to the Birchbox monthly goodies yet. What do you think?

~ t

Recycling Clothing As Amazing Sculptures

With great shows such as Project Runway, fashion design is possibly one of the most interesting and talked about forms of design as of late. As an artist, I know that recycling my materials in anyway is not only cheaper but helps the environment. To be able to create such amazing sculptures with recycled clothing just blows my mind. These artists have used color and form in such an incredible and impacting way that I wish I could see it in person just to absorb it all.


As said on Fubiz™

The artist duo Guerra de la Paz, consisting of Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz,intelligently managed this challenge to recycle old clothes to create works of art. A realfreshness and an undeniable talent emerge from these compositions.

-K 

Check some more images out here -> Recycling Clothing Art | Fubiz™