Avon Magix Cashmere Finish Liquid Foundation + Face Perfector

 

Avon Magix Cashmere Finish Liquid Foundation is a really great foundation for those warm and humid days.  I could just imagine how wonderful it would feel once the temperature here in California cools down.  It's creamy, smooth and very lightweight, it feels like skin.  It's a matte finish, and never dull, but slightly dewy, so not to wash out the complexion.  It's quite beautiful and soft.  It most certainly feels like a tinted moisturizer because of the soft texture and light-medium coverage.  There is a pleasant scent, it smells pretty and I enjoy it.

It's great for evening out skin tone and minor blemishes, but not so much for dark scars and dark spots.  Even though my freckles and under-eye darkness show through, I don't really mind because a little bit of concealer can take care of that.  

The only thing that I do not like about the product is that no matter how much I shake the bottle, sometimes the product may come out a bit watery, but it seems like it may have to do with the temperature, causing the ingredients to possibly separate.  Anyone else have this problem?

Now, the Avon Magix Face Perfector is a brilliant product.  I really love the way it feels and the way it works.  I'm also comparing it to the Smashbox Photo-Finish Primer that I have been using for the past 2 years until I ran out and picked up the Avon Face Perfector.  It applies beautifully onto the skin, starts off as a white creamy gel and smooths out to a clear finish, feels like soft powder.  It works just as well as the Smashbox  Photo-Finish Primer.

This is a great duo, and the finish I do love.  Regular price for the Avon Magix Cashmere Finish Liuid Foundation is $11 and the Magix Face Perfector is $10.  I got them on sale for $7.99 each, and they do go on sale rather often, wait for the sale!

Have you tried the Avon Magix Cashmere Finish Liquid Foundation and Face Perfector?  What are your thoughts?

Looking to pick up the duo?  Purchase here or visit www.youravon.com/nancychu

Philosophy Cosmetics at Big Lots

On my last 'Current Favorites' post, I included Philosophy's the color of grace eyelighting shadow duo in Heaven Earth as my current favorite deal.  I went to Big Lots looking for mini mirrors for a classroom project that the students were going to be doing the following week.  While browsing the beauty aisle I couldn't believe I could not find a single mirror without the magnify x 10 effect -_-  I just about gave up because I also tried the Dollar Tree with no success.  I passed by this wall of pink cosmetic packaging lined up with stocks and stocks of perfectly new Philosophy cosmetics.  I love Philosophy's Purity facial cleanser, so I could not believe it when I saw bulks of philosophy make-up taking up a whole shelf at Big Lots... and at $3 a piece, what a deal right?!  I grabbed one of everything and went through the products like a kid in a candy store.

There were cream blushes, eyeshadow quads and duos, make-up palettes, face powders, concealers, bronzers, face luminizers, lip glosses, and kabuki brushes.  Out of everything that I could have gotten, the only product that I thought I would use was the eyelighting shadow duo in Heaven Earth because I have been looking everywhere for a light neutral duo. 

Its soft and subtle texture glides on like butter.  I love it for the sheer and natural-looking spring/summery go-to-eye.  It's a light sandy champagne color coordinated with a light taupe brown, and both shades have a light fresh sheen finish with a slight hint of ultra fine shimmer, and I mean really really fine, which is why I think I love it so much.  Honestly, it's impossible to make a mistake with this duo because the texture is so bendable, under-blending or over-blending, not the case here.

Both photo swatch without primer

  The look for the past several days...

Products:
                Philosophy shadow duo (Heaven Earth)
                Black eye shadow as eyeliner
                Diorshow Blackout mascara (one coat)
                Amazing Cosmetics concealer (pin size amount) 

  No make-up (left eye), shadow duo with liner and mascara (right)

Notice the difference.  See how it just brightens the entire (right) eye area.  It even covered up the freckles on my lid.  I applied the champagne color over the entire lid and inner corner.  A light sweep of taupe on the outer corner and under lash line.  Lined the upper lash with black shadow, and mascara.  Dab a pin size amount of Amazing Concealer on the under eye area.  Fin!

Here's the look under brighter lighting...

 No make-up (left eye), shadow duo with liner and mascara (right)

 No make-up (left eye), shadow duo with liner and mascara (right)

I am loving this duo and I'm thinking about picking up a few more to stock up and give to my sisters and girlfriends.  If you have to pick one out of the bunch, I think the Heaven Earth duo is a steal.  I swatched the quads and did not find anything special about them, truthfully the quads, in my opinion, sucked.  The pigments were weak, and the colors did not blend well at all.  When my boyfriend saw my arm while standing in the cashier line, he said, "why do you have dirt all over your arm?"  @_@  Pretty much sums it all up right?  I laughed at his comment because I thought the same thing when I swatched the colors.  At $3 per quad, the quality was bad and the colors were nothing you might not already have.  Save your money even if $3 sounds to good to be true, it is...which is probably why they ended up in Big Lots in the first place.

But the Philosophy eyelighting shadow duo in Heaven Earth rocks!

What Philosophy product did you get and loved?  Or did you go wild and pick up one or two of each? 

Current Favorites

Favorite Decor (vintage storage box):
Favorite Fabric (light-weight & breezy):
Favorite Past Time (reading):

Michaels Craft Store: Vintage storage box $9.99

Closet: Top $9.99

Book: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Favorite Deal:

Favorite DIY:

Dream Catcher Bracelet

Karma Bracelet

Four Leaf Clover Bracelet

Favorite Quote: 

Do you see the beauty in everything?

Coral & gold nails

Essie nail polish: Tart Deco

Right now, I'm celebrating Spring by adding a dose of color and sparkle!  Ridiculously pretty for Spring and well into Summer.

Current Favorites

Favorite Nail Color:

Avon nail polish: Aqua Fantasy

Favorite Print:

Favorite Bag (cross-body):

Favorite Project (gardening-my Zinnias at 2 days old!):

Favorite Feeling:

Favorite Words of Wisdom:

Feeling blue.  What is your favorite quote when things are not going well for you?

Hairstyle for Workouts: Fishtail Braid

A year and a half ago, I cut off 15 inches of hair to donate to Pantene's Beautiful Length.  Working out with short hair was easy because the only thing you can really do with short hair was a pulled back ponytail.  My hair was so short, it looked more like a fluff or the end of a bad paint brush.

As my hair grew to a medium length, the ponytail started feeling heavy, and it would swoosh side to side during my runs, and that was annoying.  I started wearing my hair in a short ponytail braid, high topknot, or low loose bun.  This worked for awhile...

Now that my hair is longer, a pulled back ponytail will not do, I can feel it flying all over the place when I run.  A bun does not stay put because it's a lot heavier, bulkier, and I hate using bobby pins, and they don't stay on my hair.  The bun is also fairly uncomfortable for Pilates, because I'm laying down most of the time, and the bun gets in the way when I'm trying to lay flat on the mat.  I tried the ponytail braid for Pilates and the whole time I can feel it bulking on my back, causing discomfort during sit-ups and core exercises.  And because my hair is layered, the short strands start to fall and stick to my face when I'm already feeling sweaty...gross.  By the end of the workout, my braid is a hot mess.  So I tried french braid, which I can not seem to do!  I have never been able to do the french braid on myself, but I can do it on other people.  It always comes out as a dutch braid on myself, so it doesn't work for Pilates because I can feel the bulk on the back of my head when I'm laying down, since the dutch braid has the braid sitting on top of the hair rather then inside or under the hair like a french braid. 

Finally, I decided to learn the fishtail braid because I've always wanted to do it to my hair but it always looked so difficult and complex because I thought it involved twisting and braiding at the same time.  But really, it is so much easier than a french or dutch braid.
 

Functionally, I love it during my workouts because at the end, my hair still looks good.  I don't have little strands of hair sticking out in odd places, because the cross-over strands are thinner, not necessarily tighter which I really like because I hate the feeling of my hair being pulled too tight.  AND it looks absolutely pretty and chic.

I'm so glad I finally found a hairstyle that works for me without weighing me down, literally!  What kind of hair style do you sport during your workouts?

Current Favorites

Favorite Nail Color:

 Avon nail polish: Loving Lavender

Favorite Scent: 

 

Favorite Wish:

Favorite Sport:

Lake Tahoe, NV

Favorite Place: 

Hermit Falls, Arcadia CA

 Favorite Sound:

 Santa Monica, CA

What are your current favorites? 

Happy Lunar New Year

I hope those who celebrated the Lunar New Year had a great time.  The Lunar New Year is typically celebrated for 15 days, some celebrate for 7 days.  My family celebrated the eve of Lunar New Year and 3 consecutive days after that.  Definitely lots of food and lots of family time. 

I really wanted to wear red this year.  New year, new clothes.  I went shopping hoping to find something nice that I could wear to the family celebrations.  It was a tough mission.  My sister and I agree that we just couldn't find anything.  This seasons Spring collection seems to be a lot of floral-inspire, pinks and a very bright color palette.

Empty handed and disappointed as I was, I went through my closet to look for the one cream-ivory dress that I had purchased last summer but never wore.  I absolutely hate buying clothes and not wear it.  I've donated so many brand new clothes that I can not even begins to tell you how ridiculous it was.  Why did I do that??  I'm so glad that I got pass that, and only purchase pieces that I know I will wear at least 5 times.  Rule of thumb when it comes to buying pieces: only buy it if you know you're going to wear it at least 5 times. 

Anyway, in this case, I was so glad I had a new dress to wear because as they say 'out with the old and in with the new'.  Wear new clothes to welcome the new year. 

Fergalicious: Black pumps: $29.99

 

Lara's Closet: Dress $49.95

Make-up, I went with light and fresh because when I think of Chinese New Year, I think pink and white peach blossoms.  Which was precisely what my grandparents and my auntie had decorated in the family living area for the family celebration.

Face:
Makeup Forever HD foundation
Laura Mercier mineral finish powder
Nars Laguna bronzer
Avon Classic Aura True color blush

Eyes:
Eye shadow primer
Urban Decay Sin eyeshadow
Mac Satin Taupe eyeshadow
Elf black cream eyeliner
Maybelline falsies mascara
Anastasia Brunette brow powder duo

Lip:
Avon Rose lip stain marker

Photo to the right is taken with camera flash.  I love how this foundation really stands up to flash photography, bright or harsh lighting.  Creating a much soft-focused effect.  Luminous, but not overly-shiny.




Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous year of the Dragon!

Avon Lip Stain Marker

Avon lip stain marker color: Rose

My absolute favorite lip product of the moment is the Avon lip stain marker.  I have been wanting to try lip stains for so long because they seem to have the pigmentation of a lipstick without the shiny-sticky gloss.  Lip stains are less dramatic and tend to look more natural, than lipstick or lipgloss.

Reasons for loving the Avon lip stains: precise, easy application, dries immediately, smudge-proof (kiss-proof), lightweight, and it last for hours.

The only problem, which I also assume goes the same for all lip stain, is that it can be drying.  But have no fear, all you need is a little bit of lip balm.  The product suggest to apply balm over the stain, but I prefer balm first, then the stain, simply because I always apply lip balm before anything else.

I'm loving the fresh face look that this lip stain gives off.

 Natural light (left), with flash (right)

Have you tried lip stains?  What is your favorite?

ELF Cream Eyeliner

New favorite beauty product of the moment?  ELF cream eyeliner!

 This stuff is amazing for the price.  At $3.00 a pop, I have to say it is beyond goodness.  I've never used eyeliner that comes in a pot before because I have always thought products in pots tend to dry out faster and you'll have to toss the product out before you'll ever get the chance to make a dent in the product.  But at $3.00, I couldn't resist and needed black eyeliner that was going to stay put without smudging.

 I've tried tons and tons of eyeliners from pencils, liquid liners, creams, gels to shadow liners... from low-end to high-end brands and everything in between, with lots of hits and misses. 

Let's get down to it!  Elf's cream eyeliner is super creamy, has great pigmentation, glides on super smooth, and sets very nicely within a minute (gives me just enough time to fix any mistakes with a q-tip before staying put).  I like that I can create super thin lines or extremely bold thick lines with ease.  With a good primer, this one last me all day without the smudge. 

I've gone hiking a few times this past week in the sunny southern Cali weather with this liner and it hasn't failed me yet.  My eyelids tend to get slightly oily on warm days, and it was able to hold on without smudging.  I've been using it everyday for 3 weeks now and the product is still as creamy as the first day.  I'm not sure how long the product is going to last before it starts it dry out in the pot, but until then... it's totally worth trying out.  Oh, and it comes with a decent mini slant-eyeliner brush.    

As for my favorite eyeliner of all times, it's a toss up between Stila's shadow liner, Elf's cream liner and Mark's 'get in line' liquid liner.

What is your favorite eyeliner?  Do tell!

Good-bye my Love

 15 inches cut at Paul Mitchell

I finally sucked it up and decided to send my hair out to Patene's Beautiful Lengths.  I know there are many other wonderful hair donation programs out there like Locks of Love, Angel Hair for Kids, Wigs for Kids etc.  I ultimately chose Patene's Beaituful Lengths because I love Patene's Mission to benefit women who have lost their hair to cancer.  Locks of Love is very popular with children who want to donate their hair to children who have lost their hair, which helped me decide that I wanted to help other women.

After reading the websites, I've learned that Locks of Love do sell their hair pieces to children 21 and under, while Patene's Beautiful Length solely benefit women whose hair loss was attributed to cancer.  I was never keen on the idea of my hair being sold, hence my decision to donate... I would like the recipient of my hair to not have to pay for a hair piece after everything that they've gone through.

All this research really makes you realize how much we take for granted, things like having hair... if you ever want to do something great for someone, this is an easy and significant way to do it.  It's a beautiful thing knowing that you can effortlessly change someone's life around.

No matter which charity you choose, you are doing a wonderful thing.

I would love to know if you have donated your hair or ever consider donating?  Where did you end up sending your love?

Love what makes you smile

Cotton On: Off-the-shoulder Shirt $12

Avon Glazewear Lip Gloss: Cherry Liqueur $2.99

 Old Navy: Top $5

 Cotton On: Shirt $10

Lara's Closet: Cut-off Shorts $25

Forever 21: Belt $5

Target: Sandal $15

 Always find time to go for a ride.

 Best Friends don't knock on your door, they just walk in.

Love - what - makes - you - smile