Life has gotten ridiculous in the past while, and while I'm not abandoning this blog, it's not likely I'll be around much in the next while.
Take care.
Like most people who use Urban Decay’s primer potion, I finally got to the point where it seemed empty.
Since the bottle shares a similar anatomy to a lip gloss tube, I took out the wiper that sits on the lip of the opening. I couldn’t believe how much a difference that made, there was definitely a ton of product left in there.
This was short lived however, and since I’d heard people talk about how the contour of the bottle kept a lot of product out of reach. With that in mind, I broke out a sharp knife and cut into it.
It does require a bit of strength, but it’s not difficult. First I sliced through the thickest part of the bottle, which reveals a jaw dropping amount of product. I then cut off the bottom (which is deceptively much thicker) and scooped out the entirety. I was able to completely fill up a MAC sample jar, which I believe is a 5g? This jar is full as it can be because I had to drop it (only about an inch above my desk) to pack in the product and get it to settle properly.
It took about 15 minutes to hack up the bottle and then fill the jar, and while it was a little messy, I feel it was worth it. The full sized bottle is 10ml and a 5g jar translates to roughly 5ml – so you’re looking at about 50% of the product. Yes, I agree that it is silly that to cut open a bottle, but for the amount of product that comes from the effort, I think it’s foolish not to.
Something I’ve always admired is flawless looking false lashes. It’s pretty easy to find some lashes, either at the drugstore, costume shop, makeup store or the plethora of beauty/lash websites. What I've found to be pretty hard is, flawless application. I’ve done a bit of experimentation with false lashes in the past, and generally it wasn’t a good scene. The one pair of lashes I’d bought just didn’t want to work with my unskilled hands. Once I actually managed to get them on, they weren’t balanced, they weren't even, and they just looked completely busted.
Since then, quite a bit has changed with my view and application of makeup, so I wanted to try again. Recently I picked up a few pairs of Ardell lashes in the the following styles: 114, 115, and 116.
Two separate occasions and two separate styles of lashes.
The first look I tried was with the 116 lashes. Originally I was wondering if they would be dramatic enough to be worth the effort, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were. In fact, they’re my favourite of the three pair. They are the shortest pair, but I think they’re probably moderate as far as false lash length goes in general. They’re not full density either, but I was surprised to find that this low-mid range density actually offers a pretty natural appearance. The one thing I would change would be my placement, since I think they could be placed a little further out, to make sure that the ends blend better with the outer edge of my own lashes.
The second look was using the 115 lashes. This experiment did not go anywhere near as well, but I wanted to make a note of it for future reference of what not to do. These lashes are long and full, and very much look like false lashes. I think it’s pretty safe to say that with lashes this dramatic, you really need a strong brow to balance them out. I didn’t think to do this at the time, but I’ll definitely remember the next time I want to break them out. Placement with these wasn’t too bad, but I found that the outer edge anchored to my lashes, instead of the lash line.. which resulted in some major tearing, but no burning. These lashes were a lot more difficult to place though, I think just because it was difficult to see through the fullness of the lashes.
All in all, I’m glad that I played around with the lashes. By far the 116 were my favourite because of the more natural look and ease of application. The other two I think will be fun for those more dramatic looks I come up with, or a wild night out. I definitely have a lot of respect for the skill required to apply very dramatic lashes, so for those who can – kudos. I feel like this is something that can be mastered, but like so many other things requires a lot of patience, practice, adhesive and makeup remover.
I’ve been looking through a ton of FOTD lately on forums and blogs, and it boggles my mind when someone has done a really nice application and execution of a look – with the glaring exception of matching their foundation.
The worst part is that nobody says a thing about it.
I know that the supportive environment I’ve experienced has definitely been helpful in giving me confidence, but what I really crave is the constructive criticism. How is a person to improve when anything they do is met with token positivity?
However, in the context of the online makeup community, I’m starting to think that it would be better to be upfront to a fault. When people are trying to learn and improve their skill and knowledge, isn’t feedback critical? I’m not talking about being mean (that’s a whole different rant), I’m just talking about being honest regarding the makeup application.
It's situations like this that make me question the sincerity of the feedback I've gotten in the past, and that's really frustrating.
What do you think?
