**QUICK POST** Empty Gloss Tubes (for work or travel)

This is for anyone who likes keeping beauty products on hand - in your purse or car or carryon luggage - without carrying around the whole container.

Try these inexpensive empty tubes:

They are super cheap and you can use them to hold so many products. I personally just like having a little bit of my facial moisturizer and foundation in my purse. I happen to use sunscreen and 3 different products on my face. You know us ladies with our moisturizers and serums. And don't get me started on my DIY cosmetics again.

One of the vials I've been carrying around in my purse for weeks now has some of the Manuka honey I use to treat cuts, cold sores, scrapes, etc. I think I told you guys that I have not bought a tube of Abreva since I discovered how fast Manuka works on cold sores even before they break all the way out.

The next time I travel (if that ever happens), I plan to tote along a bunch of these in my carryon baggage. I love having different lotions, creams, and sunscreens with me to use even if I can't get into my bagged luggage.

By the way, I got these in a bag of 30 pieces for around 10 bucks. There are other types - push-up cylindrical tubes, powder jars, and compacts - that you can find with a quick search. With these squeeze-type tubes, I can even use them for liquidized coconut oil and such without leaks. Just be careful to hold them upright when you open them.

Making Cosmetics has items similar to these tubes and various other types of empties for spraying, aerosols, etc. Amazon has tubes that are smaller (and cheaper). Making Cosmetics empty containers tend to be higher priced than what is on Amazon though and I didn't think the plain ones were any better quality. However, I would get any aerosol or special kind of dispensing tubes from Making Cosmetics.

Anyway, now you know.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Hard Candy Smoothing Primer Balm

I've mentioned this product in a couple of recent reviews about foundation makeup. It deserves its own post.

That is the Hard Candy Smoothing Primer Balm that I got as a "sample" from Tryspree (I think, it was Tryspree!). I have rarely used anything before as a primer (if you don't count the Maybelline Baby Soft Pore Eraser). I love the Baby Soft but, compared to this, I can't count it as an actual priming product because it mainly blurs but doesn't provide a base for foundation. This Hard Candy is most definitely a primer and it is also slightly blurring and not as wet as the Maybelline.

I thought that the primer would look super paste-like and chalky if I used it on my bare face, but it's not so bad. Like I said, it has more of a blurring - or smoothing - effect just as the name promises.

Here are some photos at various stages of using this product:

face bare except moisturizer

primer and no foundation

This is what it looks like with my new Rimmel Stay Matte foundation on half my face

So, this primer is pretty awesome. The other day when I was out and my face got a little shiny, I quickly applied a little of the balm. I wasn't wearing my matte foundation which may be why I had the shines. The balm instantly and totally banished the Shiny face and I think it works best solo if my face is very oily/shiny and not already "set" or dry.

This is very affordable at around $8 (on the brand's site) and it might be cheaper or found on sale at drugstores. I've mentioned on other posts that I will be getting more of this when the jar runs out. This is something I can keep in my purse to use with or without makeup and I can use it on the go without it making a mess.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer

I told you guys a long while back that to save on products like this, I started buying a blurring powder from Making Cosmetics. I still love the powder, but the price of this one is SO much more affordable than Garnier's product. **

That's Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer and I scored that 3-pack for under $11. Here is the primer in action. I used my hand to get a better close up - and my palm shows the best changes.


First, notice how the primer really is a kind of transparent gel.

It's not very visible but even used with no makeup, it gives the same blur effect of softening the look of your skin.

When it's smoothed out, you don't notice it even though it has a kind of slick feel and - oh my DAMN! Is that an age spot I see on my hand????

1. The untreated part of this dark foundation is shiny and richer colored. The treated part is starting to powder down to a softer tone.

2. With this shiny lip color, the primer really breaks it up into a powder.

Against the darker color of my skin, you can see how the blur will lighten or sort of "mute" a sharper color.

3. This is how the primer begins powdering with some of the dark foundation. On my face, the effect it more blended and subtle because the color matches the skin on my face, not my palm. You can see how the primer kills shone and achieves the blurring effect.

Okay, I had to take a rest. That applying and removing all that makeup from my hands just about wore me out! But you can see the subtle difference, yes? It's such a nice way to give your skin a nice "finished" look whether or not you wear makeup - and I typically don't. When I do wear makeup, I try to stick to very sheer coverage. That's not always an option when choosing shades for my darker skin color. What I will do a lot of the time is blend a very little of a heavy foundation with some blur, then apply it. This particular blur product will smooth out or thin out a foundation if you blend it on the back of your hand first. You can get the level of light or heavy coverage you want before applying. It's pretty genius.

The other thing I love about using blur products is that they help me to mute lip colors. Sometimes, lip color is just too "loud" for the moment, or maybe it was a color that you decided was just too much for you. Blurring a lip color really helps. I usually do it with colors that I like but don't want to be too flashy. You can tell from the bottom #2 photo what I mean.

It's a shallow thing to be overly worried about appearance but, let's face it (heh), it does sometimes help your mood to feel a little prettier. Like I said, I usually don't bother with a lot of makeup and just smoothing some of this primer on makes enough of a difference. Summer is coming and I want to subtly battel the shine that comes with heat and humidity. And I do this not to impress anyone - cos, trust this, I am not looking - I do this for myself.

Finally, I have to mention that of all the similar drugstore brands I have seen - for priming and blurring, etc - this is the one I favor because it doesn't mask my true dark skin color. It's like with some sunscreens where they are really good but on darker skin, they leave an ashy sheen or tint. That just does not work for me.

Now, if the price starts going back up on this stuff, I will go back to the much cheaper powder product from Making Cosmetics.


Anyway, that's my take on this product. Hope it helped.

Peace
--Free

** I was price-checking and noticed that the Garnier product is apparently discontinued.

For the song, I chose this one.I will not lie and say I know everything being said, but I get the idea. Life is struggle and faith is hope. So many people today are lost because they have struggles without hope. (The visuals are ugly but real so...)

**REVIEW** Ipsy February Glam Bag

I had gotten rid of my beauty box subs (except for Walmart and the occasional Target box) but something made me sign back up for Ipsy. I think it was seeing other user's reviews showing that they were getting some good stuff. Before I re-upped, I went in and tweaked my questionnaire.

The February box did not disappoint.

Let's take a look at these 5 items, one by one - from least fave to fave fave. This brush was my least fave item because I'm just not into brushes and don't know why most boxes always include one.

The Hanalei is nice, but unless I apply it very lightly, the shade doesn't really compliment my complexion. Also, the shade is not really a hard color but more of a faint tint. It is something I like putting on at bedtime and just before I apply any of my other lipsticks.

I've tried a couple of Marc Anthony products - one was a leave-in moisturizer for curly hair and the other was a lotion for either frizz or defining. For the longest time, I thought the Marc Anthony hair guy was the Marc Anthony "come on baby girl" singer. I know I'm not the only one who thought that!

I haven't done my entire head of hair yet because it's not my hair wash day. What I did do was test this on a hank of hair in the back. It's supposed to "drench" it with moisture. I don't know about that, but there did seem to be a little more elasticity after using the mask. I do prefer leave-in treatments, but I can't wait to try this mask on my whole head - and the single tube looks like it will be enough for that.

Now we are down to my favorite - which was a surprise to me. I hardly ever like lip colors chosen for beauty boxes. I am dark and I often get colors that are too contrasting, too light, or too chalky. When I saw this in the tube, I thought, Ugh! But as soon as I tried it on, I was kind of in love. It gives my lips a nice, juicy look of plumpness. I have narrow lips and this was a good effect. This is definitely something I would run out right now and buy if I had the money. I don't so... It's on my wishlist.

So I am pretty pleased with the February Ipsy. One day, I'm going to put the upcoming Glam Bag Plus on my birthday list in case my family wants to gift it to me.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Isododecane

This is a cosmetic ingredient that I am using to "thin" out and moisturize some of my makeup:

The item is from Making Cosmetics, the same place I get my Wrinkle Blur from. While the Blur is easy to use, with this product,  I'm kind of experimenting.

Here is the description for Isododecane ("Iso" from here on out). This is straight from the product page:

"Description: Hydrocarbon that is most often used as an emollient and solvent in skin care products. Thanks to its low viscosity and density, it has a high spreadability. Colorless liquid. Water-insoluble, but completely soluble with silicones, hydrocarbons, isoparaffin & mineral spirits. CAS# 31807-55-3. INCI Name: Isododecane."  (my emphasis)

And some more info:

"Properties: Has a weightless feel on skin, enhances spreadability of products, helps prevent evaporation of water from the skin, excellent emollient and can be used as replacement to oils in emulsions. Compatible with silicones for imparting shine, slip, combability for hair care products, conditions hair & skin. Use: Can be added to formulas as is, add to oil phase, use level 2-15%. Storage: Stable when kept in a closed container at a cool & dry place. Application: Mascara, eyeliner, creams, lotions, hair care, conditioners, hairsprays, perfumes." (my emphasis)

What I plan to use it for is what a lot of laymen Cosmetics Kitchenistas seem to use it for. I'm going to be adding minute amounts to my foundations to help them spread better and also with my gel liners to help them not "clump". I also add a bit to the Vanilla-Grapefruit fragrance that I'm so in love with. I noticed that the Iso helps the scent "stay" longer. Maybe that's because of the whole evaporation prevention?

I will definitely not be using this to try getting more mileage out of my old and dried out cosmetics. It's not good to use old cosmetics - eyeliners and shadows, etc - simply because they can cause me skin issues. I won't try to tell you guys what to do with your old products, but I will suggest you be careful of them. I've read of people getting eye infections and having serious skin breakouts from working with their ancient makeup. LOL.

So far, I've had good results.

With my fragrance, I added the smallest amount I could manage. I put one drop into a 4ml vial of the fragrance.  As far as using with my makeup, I have some concealer that I use the Iso with. I will dampen only the very tip of my smallest makeup brush with the Iso, then run the brush across the concealer before applying to my skin. It really does help with diluting the concealer and making it spread better. This works for me because, even when I want more foundation coverage, I never want a heavily applied concealer. Pretty sure this might work for thinning out other creamy cosmetics. Haven't tried that yet.

The one way that I absolutely love using the Iso is when I have over-applied my mascara or get clumps on my lashes. I take a clean mascara wand (you can get these at beauty supply stores), dab on some Iso, then run the wand through your lashes to "clean" them up a bit. It also works to thin out heavy lipsticks. I have a couple of lipstick shades that I like to blend together on the back of my hand before applying to my lips. The Iso makes this easy.

I did have to get used to handling the Iso. It's very, very runny and it only takes a bit to work with. I find that best way to use it is with a clean dropper.

I haven't used the Iso with hair products yet. I'm going to experiment with it though. I know that I want to try thinning out some of the hair gel I use sometimes. What I'm thinking about is the moisture and evaporation factor. Wonder if this would help my hair retain more of the moisture I get from some products? Hmmm....

As you can tell, I'm still playing around with uses for this stuff. If any of you have used it before or have tips for using it, let me know. I'll try to keep you updated from this end.

Of course, there's a bunch of info online about the Pros and Cons of Isododecane. It's not one of the "natural" products, so I get that a lot of people might not like that. For myself, this is one of those cases where I'm going more for control of my beauty products - natural or not.

Peace
--Free

Makeup & Labels

I was thinking about how much attention I pay to food labels. I pay a lot of attention to almost anything I plan to eat. What I don't often do is take a good look at labels on my cosmetics. The other day, I did notice something about the foundation I use:

Revlon Photo Ready in shade 012/Mocha. I love this stuff because it works so well with my Garnier 5 Sec Blur. Actually what I love is that it doesn't look fake-ish and it doesn't easily streak and leave messy marks on clothing.

What I really like is the attached labeling - at least I did, once I paid attention to it:

Is sunscreen really the reason people buy this?

 I don't know about you, but I have never really bought foundation makeup for the purpose of using it as a sunscreen.

Also, I don't "apply liberally" or reapply ever 2 hours. I'm a once-in-the-morning user. I might blot my face with my makeup sponge a couple of times a day - if I'm feeling sweaty.

Who knew that all this info was included with the product? Not me because, if I notice it at all, I immediately rip off and toss any tags as trash.

Now that I have noticed the information, I have to say that I'm pleased that it's included. When I looked through the rest of my bag of tricks and illusions makeup, I realized that most products don't give such detailed notes.

Now, on to the main point of this post. When I took a closer look at the 2 main ingredients in this (and in many other) makeup, I went from pleased to alarmed to "Huh?" in about ten minutes. Why?

• Because of the titanium dioxide skin-protection factors such as those mentioned here
• Until I realized it might be dangerous because of what I read here
• And then, I read this (which is a bit calming) and threw my hands up in surrender

I don't even want to look at the other ingredients. Bottom line is, I'll get worried if I notice my skin reacting badly. In the meantime, I'm going to just accept that if the makeup hasn't killed me yet, oh well. As the kids say:  #YOLO.

Thanks to Revlon for at least fully labeling a product. And thanks to them for having a decent shade of makeup for darker skin.

Peace
--Free

P.S.: Sorry that I'm slacking on posting & social networking (and responding to everyone online). It's been a rough couple of weeks. I'm now sitting here in the middle of all my boxes, with 6 days left to be out of this place. When Monday comes around and folks are looking for dependable old me to be there, I'm going to keep sitting here just taking care of me for once. Just venting.

**REVIEW** Garnier 5 Sec Blur

As I mentioned before, I love the box of goodies L'Oreal sent to me. L.O.V.E. it all. I did have some favorites though. This is one of them:

Garnier 5 Sec Blur. Genius.

I probably would not have tried this if not for the gift. Not only did I try it and like it, but I let my sister try it and she went out and got some for herself.

PROS:

• Mattes the face after applying moisturizer and before applying the rest of my makeup. Mattes any shine without drying out the skin.
• Could be worn alone if the shade were slightly darker. My sister can wear it without foundation. 
• Has a really nice feel to it. Goes on like a spreadable powder. 
• Blurs surface imperfections and evens out my skin tone for applying foundation or my shaded powder makeup.
• Helps "set" my foundation. I noticed that my makeup wore better and longer if I used Blur.

CONS:

• Because I have such a dark complection, I can't wear it solo. I have to apply foundation or my tinted powder to get rid of the slightly ashy look.
• Though it does work as a "primer", it doesn't really do as much for my fine lines. I think this is only because of the pale shading. If it came in a brown tint, I think the blurring would work on fine lines.

This is really a great product. I'm hoping that someone will come out with it in a variety of shades for more skin tones. When I went with my sister to pick out hers at the store, I noticed that there were at least 4 other brands with a similar product. My sister is a few shades lighter than I am, and she is able to wear the Blur solo. Looks really good on her and saves her having to wear a foundation.

Very light against back of my hand
Powders as you blend in

This side, Blur-free                               This side, Blurred

This is a really good product idea. Going on the search for one in a better shade for me. 

Peace

--Free

Thank You, L'Oreal!

Have to do a shout out to L'Oreal. Because I participated in a survey on skin, hair and makeup (through their product testing site), they sent a lovely 'Thank You' gift in the form of this:

Just like getting an extra (belated) birthday gift!
(forgive the pic quality)

Wow. All stuff that I have been wanting to try.

What was included? Well, let's see...

• Garnier 5 Sec Blur
• Lancome Blush Subtil Palette
• L'Oreal HydraFresh Toner
• Lancome High Definition Amplifying Mascara
• Kiehl's Creme de Corps (all-over body moisturizer)
• Garnier Clean+ Balancing Daily Exfoliator

Boy. I am just thrilled to have gotten over $100 worth of products. I think the two that I want to try first are the Kiehl's and the 5 Sec Blur.

I wasn't asked to review anything. This was just a gift for my having taken part in the survey. Of course, I will be reviewing each and every one of the products as soon as I get a chance to try them out! What I appreciate the most is that they paid attention to my survey and tailored my gift box to my specific preferences.

Who is a happy L'Oreal fan? Me, that's who. Yes, ma'am, I am. Not sure how participants are chosen but, go here to see about signing up.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Black Radiance Complexion Perfection

This is Complexion Perfection Liquid Foundation from Black Radiance*.

Let me start by saying how nice it is to use makeup formulated (by shade and balance) for black skin tones. Even though I think I got a shade that is a bit darker than my own, it still looks better than when I get a shade too light for my tone.

First thing to love about this product: the brush applicator. Second thing: how the brush applicator is set up.

 

That the removable applicator brush comes with its own cap cover is handy in a couple ways: It's detached from the makeup when not in use, and I can toss the covered brush into my handbag without worrying about smears. Nice.

What do I love about the foundation? Everything. Namely:

• Goes on very lightly and evenly. 
• Blends in perfectly with my skin tone (women who can buy makeup almost anywhere take this for granted).
• Is not sticky or heavy - and it doesn't smear at the casual touch. (This is a big deal with dark makeup.)
• My skin did not feel or, more importantly, look made up. It just looked, well, "perfected". No chalky/ashy look & no greasy shine.

By the way, this was not a freebie. It was a gift from someone I adore who watches my Gift List and, when he knows I'm feeling unloved, he surprises me like this. (Thanks, P. Gifts or no, you are very special!)

Now that I have found this foundation, I need to check out more things from Black Radiance. I'm just super-excited to find makeup that works for me - without adjustments or excuses.

I've been checking Amazon for more of the Black Radiance products (because I have a trial Prime membership) and will let you know if I decide to order some of their other items. Like these: 

That "Warm Berry" is gonna be mine

~sigh~ a BB cream for me. Finally.

Don't even get me started on the eyeshadows...

So in love with that eye palette!

Oh! I almost forgot the most important thing: Price. Both the eye palette and the BB cream runs around $5 each.

I'm in ❤with makeup again. (I'm going to be contacting my local Walmart and Walgreen stores because, as of now, they are not carrying the items in Anchorage.)

Peace
--Free

*This is a new product so I didn't see it on their website but, trust me, it's gorgeousness.

Makeup for Black Skin You Might Not Have Heard About

Since I've already ranted about the hard time I and other black women have in finding appropriately shaded makeup, I decided to go positive. I went looking around the web for makeup that does come in a wider range of shades - not just for black women, but for any woman who does not fit the trendy molds in place.

There are actually quite a few products to choose from, though you won't be able to make a quick Walmart, Target or Walgreen run to pick them up. (And, yes, I did cull some from lists I found posted by other people!) Here we go:

Sleek Makeup - Wide range of products. The CC and BB creams come in good shades for light & dark tones. Good pricing. They even had a cream-to-powder testing kit with varying shades.

Black Radiance - Nice shades in all their products - lips, eyes, foundation. The "custom coverage" foundation comes with 2 blendable shades. Nice. More brands need to follow that trend. Available in a lot of Walgreens & CVS stores (not in Alaska though!) Best of all: the prices ($1.99 for some lipsticks; $5.99 for the BB cream. That's more than affordable.) Since I can't find these in Alaska, I'm glad they are on Amazon.com for the cheap.

All those nice shades & for that price?!

Interface - This was under the Flori Roberts flag. While the shade were off for my liking in some products shown, there is variety for darker tones. Pricey though - especially after seeing the Black Radiance line. (By the way, I'm not sure why a black cosmetics brand like Flori Roberts would have a sub-line of black products.)

Interface (love the 2nd from left, but not for $18.50)

Those are just a few to get you started. I recommend checking out Amazon by doing a general search. There are a lot of brands that don't get the attention they deserve. Two brands that I had never heard of are: LAMIK and Joy Lorraine, (check Facebook); and one that I had heard of but didn't realize they had a wide range of shades - Kiss New York. That one was tricky. I had to see a YouTube video to know about the BB cream that can be found the Kiss page on Amazon. I could not find that cream on the brand page.

What I am realizing is that there are plenty of brands with shades of cosmetics to fit every woman. The problem is that companies are making too many wrong assumptions about women who wear makeup. It's as if, unless the customer lives in a major city - or one that is predominately brown - they're not likely to see "Mocha", "Chocolate" Deep-Deep" or other such shades on the shelves of the local drugstore. I always want to write to cosmetic companies and remind them that Blacks, Mexican, and Pacific Islanders do live here in Alaska. The Alaskan Natives and Asians aren't exactly one shade of whatever the brands seem to thing.

I also notice (now that I am back on Facebook - which you are not allowed to tease me about) that smaller brands aren't using the social networks effectively. Aren't you in business to do business? So, get yourselves out there on Google Plus, (and, okay, Facebook too) and Twitter - and promote, promote, promote. Send out samples and offer trial sizes. Hit up all those blogs and sites that discuss the lack of quality makeup and show them your stuff. I mean, come on, people...

Until I find more products, I'll stop this rant for now!

Peace
--Free

***COMING SOON*** Review of Lancome Dream Tone!

Heads up, ladies.

The other day, I was moaning about the lack of program invites from She Speaks. Well, a big one has come up.

Lancome has this product that I am now SO anxious to try out & tell you about. It's their brand new "DreamTone Customized Skin Tone Correcting Serum." The product comes is available for "Fair," "Medium," and "Dark" tones. Guess which one HRD (Her Royal Dark-n-Lovely) will be trying. (Let's just hope that "Dark" means more Naomi Campbell and less Queen Latifah!)

In the past, I've tried (and reviewed) BB creams, but this sounds like a different type of product and it might be reaching a little higher as far as "correcting" serums. I am pretty happy with my skin, but, like almost any other woman, I can relate to the areas this product is supposed to work on: dark spots, uneven skin tone and color imperfections.

I will be blogging about the product once I've received it. I was really intrigued by the photos of the women on the product website. I've decided that, when I go get the product, I am going to take more than one "Before" pic to post here, then I will try to get a photo every week or so. That way, you will be able to get a good idea of the effects. (And you guys know how I hate having my photograph taken, so I'm going all out this time!)

You guys know that I'm pretty outspoken when it comes to reviewing products, so...

Keep watching for the product arrival. In the meantime, visit the SheSpeaks site and on Twitter. Here's Lancome on Twitter and on (ugh!) Facebook.

You can also check Twitter for folks who've tried the product by checking Twitter for the bareselfie movement for #DreamTone (or go here)

Fellow bloggers - SheSpeaks wants to hear from you. Join up (and be sure to tell them who sent you!) to start giving your opinion.

Peace
--Free

Lipsticks For Women of a Deeper Hue...

I've said it many times before and I'm saying it once again: It's hard out here for a dark chick! What I'm talking about is makeup in general and lipstick in particular.

If you are a darker skinned woman, like me, you know that it can be a little tricky finding makeup that doesn't clown you up or wash you out. I'm not hating because I rarely wear makeup. But I do always wear lipstick. Always. Made my teeth look whiter when I was a smoker; not it's just a habit: brush teeth, apply lipstick.

This is a really helpful link for figuring out your own undertone.  This talks about skin colors in too much detail. Gave me a little bit of a headache. This right here gets too deep into the subject for me. I just want to find a good palette of cosmetics, but in case you are interested...

Being a black woman with cool undertones (I look better in red and silver, and, yes, I can see that my veins are blue), I have trouble finding lipstick that suits me. I'm not like my sister or niece, who will look great in pastel lipsticks and clothing. I like my deep reds for my lips and white for my clothing. I have to say (and hope that it's not vain or ignorant-sounding) that I LOVE my dark skin. I love the way it looks and feels and... Okay, that's getting to a be both vain and ignorant so I'll stop.

Problem: Finding a red lipstick that doesn't look "orange-y" or too plum-like. Red, people, just gimme the red!

Solution 1: Buying a black lipstick (yes, I've done this) and blending it into one of the above "reds" to get a passable shade. That is such a freaking hassle - costly, messy to apply and really a pain to re-apply...

Solution 2: Find that one good shade once in a PINK moon and buy a bunch or hang the heck on to it for life.

(You've seen my pic over there to the right. That's me, no makeup -good lighting and a forgiving webcam- and in my fairly true skin color. I'm dark, yes ma'am. As James Brown said, "I'm black and I'm proud," but I can be pissed when shopping for lipsticks.)

In the past year and a half, the moon has shown shockingly pink twice and reluctantly rosey once. I found this one in (I believe) Walgreens...

Cute & simple case

By Prestige Cosmetics
Shade: Pinot Noir

...and this one (for sure) in Walgreens

RevLON!!!

Shade: Black Cherry

I adore the Pinot Noir shade. It's something I can put on with lip gloss for a subtle look or (and, face it, I'm not a subtle woman) just slick it on for that deep, deep, deep red that I love. Makes me feel all glamorous, amorous, hot-to-trot and just bad-to-the-bone. I also like that the texture is nice and smooth - not sticky at all. For a matte look, I just blot the first application and let it set, then apply and blot a second glide. I usually like the moist look. Actually, I really like to add this gloss to all my shades

L'Oreal's Color Riche Shade: 281/Queen's Shine

 That brings me to my tip for getting a shade right: if your liptick is almost-but-not-quite what you need in shade, trump it with a gloss. The L'Oreal gloss by itself is a nice day-look, but added to my other least-favorite shades, it kinda sorta balances things out for me.

This is a shade I do like a lot, when I want to look like I'm not wearing lisptick (and still want a polished appearance)

Shade: #37 Gourmet Coffee (by Milani)

It's great for church, interviews... that kind of thing. When I want to switch gears after church or the interview, I add some of that gloss. It's cool.

Shade: Blackberry.
Cost: $0.99 from Sally's Beauty Supply

This is something I keep in my purse all the time. Easy to put on and it's a lot more defining if you tend to (like me) be sloppy applying lipstick without a mirror. I always make sure to apply it over a balm. It can be a little bit drying.

Anyway, that's my little rant on lipsticks. I did a post some time back that had links for cosmetics for various skin tones  On a less serious, but more personal note, I did a look back at my Mama's days with cosmetics.

Let me know if you hear or know of any reasonably-priced cosmetics for those of a darker hue.

Peace
--Free