Aging sucks, okay? So like, the first signs of my aging (don’t know if this is really a sign of aging or just allergies).. Puffy eyes. Gross.
So, I have had some really bad allergies and hormonal issues within the past few months. I feel like my eyes are starting to puff, and all of that skin-stretching can’t be good. I searched for a new eye cream or eye serum, I already own a ton of them, but I was thinking ‘high-end’ this time. Like, higher than Estee Lauder high-end.
I did a search on beauty.com for top rated eye stuff.. I found the Arcona AM/PM Firm Serum and saw that there were a ton of rave reviews about it’s performance on the eyes.
Here’s what they say:
Firming eye repair complex fights signs of aging, reduces puffiness and hydrates the delicate eye area. Moisturize, retexturize and alleviate fine lines with mucopolysaccharide complex and hyaluronic acid. Repair and nourish skin with meadowfoam oil and essential fatty acids. Reduce puffiness and environmental damage with willowherb and organic coffee extracts.
Like all products in ARCONA’s skin therapy regimen, Eye Serum is cosmeceutically formulated with pure, natural ingredients, cold-pressed in small batches to keep them fresh, active and super-effective. For optimal results, we recommend using this product within six months of opening. Change may be immediately noticeable; however, full benefits are derived as skin is brought into balance by regular use.
Made in USA
Here’s my review on their site:
I didn’t want to reach for the hemmroid cream to take away puffy eyes, I hear it’s chemically laden and only for the people with ‘roids. I’ve also heard that there is a wonderful organic ‘roid cream out there that does great things for the puffy lids, but I have yet to try what’s out there.
I am a makeup artist, a makeup snob, and really picky about what I use. I have tried many, many eye creams & serums (samples from every makeup counter you can imagine) and although some were good at moisturizing, I only really wanted instant de-puffing. I’ve worn this Arcona product for over a month now, and only see that the texture of the skin on my lids is a little better (we are talking only a LITTLE better) and I haven’t seen much else going on. I have bad allergies and my eyelids get puffy, so maybe an eye serum isn’t the answer for my puffs.
I am going to finish the product and see how it goes… my positive points about this product is that a little goes a very long way, it’s easy to apply, and the pump is awesome.
Welp.. the price for the serum is $38 for the standard eye cream size, .5 oz. I don’t think that the price is that bad. If I paid over $60 for it, then I would probably start complaining that I wasted my money. For someone like me, I think I will need some allergy pills, not an eye cream. So I am not going to rate the product, but I will say that it’s a pretty quality product and that it’s a must try for someone who is eye cream/serum shopping.
When M.A.C cosmetics comes out with a new collection, I go into semi-panic mode. Not only does the best lipgloss of the entire collection sell out in a matter of seconds online and in the stores, but they are already onto a new collection in what seems like a week!
Here is what is new at M.A.C.. and things I may “attack”.
ELECTRO FLASH
According to maccosmetics.com:
Mineralize Eye Shadow in nine new duos with unblinking courage, and convincing new combinations. Add Lipglass and Lipsticks with quantum physics energy, in companion colours and electro-lustres. Electricity is our most precious resource…everybody, electrified!
The editorial photo doesn’t really do a good job of showing exactly what the makeup looks like on a real person.. but I can already tell that there are a lot of cool colors in this collection.
I am loving the tinted lipglass colors, especially Cultureclash, which will probably sell out when I am finished typing this paragraph. (LoL)
The mineralized products tha M.A.C puts out are usually pretty plentiful. These are nothing new, and as far as I see, they have had these colors before. I really like Odd Couple and Pink Split, but only because of how cool they look in the package. I probably own something similar, so I will hold off on purchasing anything from this collection.
SONIC CHIC
According to maccosmetics.com:
Mineralize Blush to break the style barrier: Screamingly chic, but soft, sheer, lightweight. Enhance cheekbones, create planes and contours with the 181 Buffer Brush for flawless blending. The fastest route to perfection yet is Ultra-Sonic.
Wow.. more minerals. ::waves flag::
The promo image for this collection really caught my eye. I am really into bronze eye looks with brick red lipstick, it’s a look that really goes well with the fall season and looks good on just about any skintone, etc. The thing that threw me off about the ad was that.. this is an ad for blush.. not eye or lip color. I was a bit confused. Anyway, the blush color selection is quite good, especially Love Thing and Pleasantry. Two mauve blushes that go well with my pale skin and blue eyes. If you don’t have the M.A.C 181 small buffer brush to apply heavily pigmented blushes with.. it’s a must have!! Another good alternative is the Sugar Bronzing brush, but not even sure if Sephora sells it anymore. Apparently this Mineralize blush is lightweight, but you never know.
I am not really a great fisherman, as a matter of fact, I am impatient when it comes to catching my own food, so I’d rather go through McDonald’s for a Filet-O-Fish or to the nearest Red Lobster to earn my catch of the day. What if all I had to do was stick my feet in water and I would have hundreds of fish swarming around me? There’s something new swarming a buzz in the world of beauty… and it involves.. well.. fish.
Dr. Fish is what they call them, and they love to eat human flesh! These Dr. Fish, (Garra rufa) are used to treat skin diseases such as psoriasis. These little guys live and breed in pools of some Turkish spas and are now coming to America where this treatment is gaining popularity. Dr. Fish only consume dead skin, so it sounds awesome for callouses and nasty dead skin.
My only concern is.. how do I tip my fishy pedicure technicians? I guess the gift of my sandpaper heels is more than enough of a gratuity.
I am squeezing two reviews into one… if you have any requests for product reviews (I can’t guarantee that I’ve tried it, but Sephora is right down the street from my house .. I am SO lucky)
The very lovely MAC Cosmetics Pro Slant Tweezers. These are freaking awesome. I used to work in a waxing salon, so I’ve seen tweezers of all types. Mainly, the aestheticians used Tweezerman tweezers, which go for around $30 bucks. The makeup artist at MAC, who really knew his shit, told me that the MAC tweezers would kick ass.. and he was right. I did make a boo boo and drop my beloved tweezers on a tile floor and they ended up having smashed tips after the incident. My fiancee knew how to sharpen them up for me and they were as good as new. I’ve had them for about two years now and there are zero complaints on my end. For $28 bucks you can get your hands on these, and they are better than Tweezerman.. soo.. worth it!!
I have several fave products from Benefit Cosmetics, but as you will find out, I am a “high end” and “low end” makeup lover. I will either spend $60 on a good foundation or $4 for a great mascara. I don’t spend $30 dollars on “okay” makeup. It’s hard to explain, but if you buy a lot of makeup you probably understand what I mean. I am a fan of YSL, Armani, Dior, Chanel because of the quality of the product and I will splurge on it when I find something I can’t live without. So, Dallas! Yee haw! I ride into the sunset quite often while wearing this beauty. I love the small brush when used with Dandelion, but for Dallas, I like to use a larger bronzing brush. I use this product on my very pale skin (NW15) and it works wonderful. Gives me just enough warmth and color, but not really brown like the Hoola powder. I use this also as a quick eyeshadow. I get many compliments when wearing this product because it also makes my skin appear smooth and shimmery. Benefit box prodcuts last for at least 2 years, so I love the lightweight cardboard boxes. Very eco-friendly!
Buy this: per-fekt beauty – 1 ounce – Skin Perfection Gel $57.50 @ Sephora
This tinted skin perfecting gel leaves your skin flawless without a greasy feel, and is contained in a very convenient, lightweight pump.. great for makeup artists and those who travel. The description of the product, as described by Sephora:
A multitasking all-in-one vitamin enriched, sweat-resistant and water-resistant skin perfector.
What it is formulated to do:
Glides on effortlessly to instantly improve skin tone, reduce redness, and help minimize the appearance of enlarged pores and fine lines. Enriched with powerful antioxidants including the universal antioxidant alpha lipoic acid, and vitamins A and E to help repair, protect, and fight future environmental skin damage, this lightweight gel helps maintain hydration leaving the skin with a healthy, even glow by locking in moisture and absorbing excess skin oils. And the best part? You can take this handy mini size with you anywhere. Oil Free. Fragrance-free. Paraben-free.
Can’t help but want to try this product, right? Well, you should! The price is a little up there, but it’s almost like having a makeup primer and moisturizer in one.
Personal experience PROS: Easy to use, no break-outs from this product, minimizes the look of pores and scars, perfect makeup base, face feels good after washing the product off.
Personal experience CONS: My skin is oily, and I didn’t see too much of the “absorbing of excess skin oils” going on, but all I had to do was pat my skin with a tissue and I was fine. I tried putting this product on over makeup and it balled up on my face and I could not blend it. It seems to always be out of stock on Sephora, but was available on beauty.com in 5 different shades!
Overall: This product works great with any of my current liquid foundations and setting powder. I was having a problem with enlarged pores and now you can barely see them after the product is applied. I feel like my face is more refined and soft after I wash the product off, almost like it’s a wrinkle treatment working while I wear it.
Not that: Benefit Some Kind-A Gorgeous – .34 ounces – $26 @ Sephora
Why: Don’t let the cute packaging fool you… especially with Benefit Cosmetics. (Trust me, I worked for the company for 5 years) They have a lot of good products that are worth the money, but with products like this (above) it makes me wonder how they stay in business. The product is very unsanitary and gets pretty gross-looking after you have used it a few times with the sponge that lives underneath the product. The product actually doesn’t last too long since you have to reapply it several times per day, and at only .34 ounces, it’s definitely not worth the price.
Pros: Umm.. the mirror that comes inside the compact is cute, I guess.
Cons: Just another “cute” product by Benefit. It looks okay for about 2 minutes, then it starts to look like you just ate KFC in about 105 degrees..greasy, oily.. and what do you end up doing??? You grab the sponge and you pat more product over your oil, and it all transfers onto the sponge and lives there for the remainder of the product’s days. No so sanitary. This product is available in only two shades. I broke out from using this product and there are NO “Benefit”s to using this product.. no vitamins, minerals, antioxidants.. but did I mention it had a cool mirror?
Paying tribute to those men who looked great in makeup.
I think I’ve just about dyed my hair a million times … starting at age 12 with sneaking some bleach on my hair from my mom’s Revlon Frosting kit. Actually, I am thinking back further to a time when I was only 6 or 7 and I was coloring my hair with a scented marker. I really wanted pink hair, and the only place I had seen pink hair was on one of my See Wees mermaid dolls:
Ahh yes.. the colored hair on dolls made me really want to dip my head in a vat of paint. When I was about 16, I discovered Manic Panic and Punky Colours. I was scared to ask my mom if I could do it, so I just did it and hoped she would get over it if she didn’t like it. My first dye job was when I used the gel version of Manic Panic’s Shocking Fuschia. It was a mess.. such a mess, that I ended up dying my hair in the garage from then on. This stuff is a DYE.. it stains really, really bad on skin, clothing, walls, furniture, carpets.. anything it touches! I am going to teach you in this tutorial how to lessen your chances of a disaster.. so listen up!
You are going to need some supplies.. so make a list!
1. Pick your color: I buy all of my bright hair dye from a wonderful little independent website called : AMPHIGORY.com If you click on the name of the hair color, you will go to a page where you can view actual photos of people who have used those products. Normally when you see swatches of hair dye on the web, it’s wayyy off from the actual color of the dye. It all depends on how light your hair is before it is dyed.. the lighter your hair, the more intense and long lasting the color will be. If you dye over your natural color of hair, you can get a really nice sheer cast of the color, of course that depends on the color of your hair and the color of the dye. I find that the darker the dye is in the bottle, the longer the shade will last. Here are a few photos of me with various hair colors:
Ok.. that is a lot of dye and pictures, isn’t it? I can’t even tell you what dye brands and colors go with which photos, that is a span of 9 years of photos. From 1999 to 2008! Crazy. I’ve changed a lot.. now that I am noticing.
Well.. so order your dye (Amphigory is really fast with shipping) and when it comes, don’t open the bottle.. okay?
-PRELIGHTEN your hair…I have already posted a blog about bleaching to white, but you don’t have to have it white for these dyes to show up. I have actually used blonde hair dye from the drugstore to lighten my hair and it worked pretty good when using the purple, pink, red and orange shades. For blue shades, it’s best to get hair as light as possible first.
2. Get your supplies while you wait for your dye to arrive:
-Good Gloves. I buy mine from Sally’s Hair Supply.
-Tinting Brush and plastic bowl and wide -toothed combs. I also get one from Sally’s. I have three different sizes of tinting brushes. One is very wide, maybe 2.5 inches wide for doing large areas quickly. I also have a smaller one that works well for doing streaks in my hair and quick touch-ups. My favorite tinting brush is the blue one below. It is a comb-tint brush combo.. and it works really good for me when I am bleaching my roots. The wide-toothed combs help you comb in the dye since your hair will be moist.
-Shampoo and conditioner for colored hair. The only shampoo and conditioner that I like are from the Pureology line. It’s pretty expensive, but worth it since you won’t need to dye your hair as often.I normally use the Hydrate line from Pureology and I get the BIG jug of the shampoo because it lasted me almost a year and a half. This stuff doesn’t smell wonderful or anything, but it’s the best shampoo out there. I like to switch my shampoo every so often and use a clarifying shampoo to remove residue from my hair. Actually, it’s a good idea to use a clarifying shampoo (I like the one from Kenra) before you dye it. As far as conditioners go, I love Pantene, Fredric Fekkai, Terax and Phyto. I switch around all the time with conditioners.
-Shower caps / Processing Caps: I use plastic shower caps to keep the dye on my hair on not near my skin.
-Optional: A heat bonnet. I just got this heating cap off ebay for 30 bucks: (Don’t Laugh!)
It’s actually pretty fun to wear. You can dye your hair and act out a scene from the Star Wars cantina at the same time! The heat bonnet is beneficial in many ways! I use this thing when I am processing bleach, vegetable-plant based dyes (like Special Effects, etc.) and to do deep conditioning treatments. Since the bonnet is also a hair dryer, you can use it to dry your hair when it’s in curlers. How fun is this!?!
-Cleaning supplies: Keeping this dye off of stuff is going to be a challenge. From the minute you take the lid off the product, your chances of getting dye on yourself is about 90%. Get old towels and put them on the floor!
-Baby Wipes: Good ole baby wipes do the best job getting the dye off your skin. I get just the cheap ones from Target. -Magic Sponges: Ahh.. Mr. Clean sure does a great job at keeping my bathroom nice and sparkling. These sponges are really great for rubbing stains off of surfaces. -Spray Bleach: Yup.. your shower stall and tub are going to be a mess every time you wash your hair. I get good old spray bleach from Target.. I think it says it’s a mildew remover, but all it really is.. bleach! I also get a gel bleach for tough stains.. I let the gel sit on the surface stain for 10 minutes and it works really good!
THE PROCESS
Now that you’ve got everything, it’s time to dye your hair!
-Wash your hair with the clarifying shampoo. Do not condition unless your hair is very tangled. Make sure you comb your hair out after you towel-dry it.
-This is all up to you: You can choose to blow-dry your hair entirely or keep it damp. My own personal experience is that when my hair is dry when I apply the dye, the dye looks and lasts so much better than when it’s wet. The only problem is that when your hair is dry, it’s hard to get the dye to reach every hair, you will need to spend extra time working the dye through your hair with the comb and your fingers. When my hair is damp, sometimes it will drip and get stains on the floor.. not good.
-I normally squirt some dye into my tinting bowl and dip the tinting brush in and start applying. If the dye seems too thick, you can dilute it with a bit of water in the bowl and mix it up. I clip my hair up as I go along so that I won’t get dye on my skin.
-Once you are done covering your hair in the dye, immediately put the shower cap on to keep the dye from dripping down. Pat the cap down onto your hair so it sticks to it.
-There are several ways to process your color. Since your hair isn’t going to get damaged from this type of dye, you can leave it on as long as you like. You can let the natural heat from your head process the dye, but that will take about 2-4 hours.. maybe more. I’ve slept in my dye before just so it would last longer.. but I’ve found other effective and quick ways to do it. With my shower cap on, I put on my heat bonnet, on high heat, and process for about 15-20 minutes. If I am doing streaks, I wrap my streaks in foil instead of putting the shower cap on. I tap the foiled streaks with my flat iron for one second all the way down the streak. If you don’t have any of these tools, you can always put the shower cap on and use your hair dyer on different sections of your hair for a few minutes. Don’t let the dryer get too close to the shower cap or it will melt.
- After the processing time is up, you will want to carefully remove your shower cap and throw it in the garbage. I am lucky enough to have a hand-held shower, so I can closely rinse my hair. I put my head down while I rinse out the dye so that the dye doesn’t stain my whole body. You can also rinse your hair outside if you are too scared to use the bathtub. The cold water will make your dye stay in longer, anyway! (Closes up the hair cuticle) I rinse for quite a while, until the water is almost clear. Then I apply a good conditioner. The conditioner helps extra dye come off your scalp, too. Rise that out and put an old towel on your hair (or black towel!).
- I towel dry my hair really good and apply some hair products on to help tame frizzies and stuff. I normally air-dry my hair when I first dye it, but you can dry it with a hair dryer, too. I try to stay away from hair dryers since the heat fades the dye.
Wow.. it seems like you are done! Did I miss anything?
MAINTAIN
Every 4 weeks, I touch up my roots with bleach and reapply my dye on the roots and my whole head. If you want to change the color, sometimes you can just dye right on top of what you had before if the colors are close enough. It’s easy to go from orange to red or from red to purple, but a lot harder to go from purple to orange.. know what I mean? If you really want to change.. you are going to need a color removal product called EFFASOL.
You can find this product at Sally’s. Read the directions on Effasol very well. You can use it with water or bleach, and I feel like the water method works well for removing those vegetable based dyes. This stuff can also (with bleach) remove black hair dye, which can be very hard to remove.
I also like to give myself a conditioning treatment with my heat bonnet every two weeks or so.
Anything else you would like to know? Comment below!! Hope you enjoyed this.
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