Thursday, February 19, 2009

Hello? Kitty!

Well, in my defense, I'm an Asian girl.

Isn't this kind of what we do??

Yes ... I ... hmm ... I needed the brushes! Let's go with that.

In case you're a) not a girl b) living somewhere far, far away from a big city c) do not care a single whit about make-up, let me back up and explain.

MAC (I hate that it's called MAC. A 'Mac' is an Apple computer. Let's just call it Make-Up Art Cosmetics, shall we?) came out with a special, limited-edition Hello Kitty set.

I like playing with make-up, but I don't wear it every day (I should, because I look so much better with make-up on), so I've been trying to limit spending money on such frivolities. Seriously, do I need more than one shade of blush? Do I need four different shades of off-white eyeshadow? (I have more than one blush and at least four different shades of off-white eyeshadow.)

I took one look at the colors for the Hello Kitty collection, gagged, and dismissed it. I don't do neon colors, particularly on my face. I don't wear fuchsia blush, I certainly do not use glittery liquid eyeliner, and I'm not a particularly huge fan of big chunky plastic jewelry.

Then I saw the brush set:























Cute much??

Not only cute, but I have a problem. I love brushes! Not hairbrushes, make-up brushes. They are fun and useful and everlasting. I probably have about thirty or so. (Trish McEvoy makes some delicious brushes, as does Bobbi Brown.)

But I did not have the 187, which is the stippling brush (known colloquially as the skunk brush ... ew). I needed that brush. Needed.

So ... I had to do it. Gave in to my baser urges and purchased my first cosmetics in 2009. (I'm not counting any everyday facial products- I need toner and cleanser and moisturizer and essence, I use them every single day! Those are necessities, not trivialities).

For the record, I tried the 187 brush and it is fantastic. Worth the price (so much cheaper to buy the set than the buy the three brushes separately- hey, I saved money!)

4 comments:

Anonymous,  February 21, 2009 at 7:27 AM  

what do you know about bb cream?

Jeanny February 21, 2009 at 10:18 PM  

I like BB cream, for the most part.

I've only tried two brands- Forencos (German) and A-Solution (Korean, www.a-solution.co.kr).

I actually bought the A-Solution because the Forencos was over $100, and I didn't even know if BB cream was going to work on me. The A-Solution was $35, I think, and is supposedly medicated to help prevent breakouts.

Forencos is super thick and needs to be worked into the skin really well, which I don't like. I once threw it on and didn't really worry about it, and when I looked in a mirror an hour later, it looked like there was a nice film of Kabuki makeup sitting on top of my entire face. Ew.

A-Solution has a better consistency. I tried out my 187 brush with the A-Solution and it was magical! My face looked so clean and blemish-free. Both BB creams go on a little pigmented and then fade to match your skin, but it takes an hour or so (longer for Forencos- maybe two hours).

The Forencos has better coverage (I tried it without foundation and it was great) while the A-Solution is a bit too sheer; I still use foundation on top of it.

I've heard Dr. Jart and BRTC work well, but I haven't tried them. I might try those before deciding what next to buy.

Kind of gross to admit, but I've fallen asleep with full make-up on before, and if I'm wearing BB cream as a base, my face actually still looks really good the next morning and feels soft and smooth.

I'd recommend BB cream, but I'd be careful of the brand- I've heard of people breaking out into rashes when they tried cheapies.

Anonymous,  February 22, 2009 at 4:40 AM  

wow, that was very informative. i went to 'skin food' yesterday with a girl friend and we put some bb cream on our hands. it didn't look like it would match my skin at all, but now that i've read that you have to let it sit for a while to match, i might consider getting a tube...just in case.

Jeanny February 25, 2009 at 10:30 AM  

I went through a BB cream phase where I researched and tested and searched, and I think I still revert back to that mode when I see the words "BB cream." :)