NaNoWriMo 2014

Every year and every summer I participate in NaNoWriMo and it's camp version. I've had months that I've won, and then I've had months where I underperformed. Regardless of winning I tried and I usually wind up with a few extra pages to my story.

The feelings of victory are quickly cast over by the feelings in the latter panel. Usually my hair is in a sloppy mess, and my clothes haven't been changed in eight days. (if you did not catch the obvious exaggeration, then you have such little faith in me. Hah I would only go six days... lol)

It's November now, and I will see my dogs and my husband again once the clock strikes midnight on December.

NaNoWriMo places me at the computer more often, so perhaps I will stop with my slacking on blogging. I've been atrocious at it for the past few months.

NYX Infinite Shadow Stick

A while ago, I mentioned briefly how terrible I thought th Ulta shadow crayon was. It required a touchup halfway throw the day from it's creasing. It was faint despite being black, and it felt greasy. It was just hard to work with.

Always I have heard of the NYX shadow crayons, particularly the white color milk. It creased on some and not on others. I believe it was recent that NYX came out with the updated Infinite version. Largely the same, scribbling on my hand this one smudges less than the original. 

That's what I picked up during the last 40% off sale at Ulta, instead of grabbing yet another lipstick. Aah help. The only shade I bought was black. Frankly, I miss wearing black eyeshadow every day. I've traded that in for nuetrals and occasional apricots. 

So black it is! In my tests I tried to use the Bare Minerals 5-in-1 in Divine wine, then Infinite shadow stick, topped with Lorac's black eyeshadow from the Pro Palette. It got me through my day, but creased around hour six. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture this day. 

The next test involved Bare Minerals Prime Time eye shadow primer, with the shadow stick and topped with Lorac's black and sable smudged into the crease. Also from the Pro palette. This was applied about 7 in the morning, and somewhere around Midnight, the color was crisp as ever with nary a crease. Ding ding!

Morning photo. 

And dangit, I never photographed the late night photo. But scouts honor, it looked no different than the above photo. 

Heck, I fell asleep with it on and it's still there. Shame on me for that, but the shadow rocks. 

The final test involves the shadow stick as a base and primer alone, topped with black eyeshadow. I am unwilling to try it by itself because it tugs and does not yield to smudging. I assume it will look rough and patchy without the crucial eyeshadow. 

Ipsy Unboxing - Beauty Candy October 2014

Mango Mandarin Hand cream
This was actually a very pleasant surprise. No part of this felt greasy, instead it melted into my hands very quickly. From years of farming, my hands certainly get abused. I mean have you ever seen hands after someone picks tomatoes? Or how dry your hands get after handling produce all day? Dirt will not leave the cracks that are left in the wake. It gives me great pleasure to report that this product left my hands very satisfied.

As far as the scent, I really cannot pick up on citrus notes at all. It smells a little strange to me, but I really cannot put my finger on it. Oh well, it's going in my purse regardless. I kind of love it.

Ecru New York
The dud of the bag. I really hate hair products, because I hate doing my hair. And for real? BB cream infiltrating the hair? Where will it end BB Toothpaste?

Either way it's a generous sized sample and it may make dry ends feel better. This is not exactly I product I would ever seek out myself, but it's chill. Everyone has dry hair days. This is sized nice enough for my purse.

The box was very smooshed. Can't blame anyone, as my bag was very packed.

Starlooks lip gloss

Hot dang this thing is tiny!! This was almost as disappointing as the hair product, because lip gloss is not really something I am interested right now. Rather than grumbling, I took some silver lining from it. The color is beautiful, and on it's almost a perfect nude.

It's incredibly glossy and has a rather odd smell. The bag of odd smells i see. It's not unpleasant, but it is a little interesting. It's more opaque than NYX Butter Gloss, and if I'm not mistaken similar in the color I recieved Creme Brulee.

Where this really made a near dupe-level match was Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lip gloss in Rebel. Recently I acquired Rebel for my mom and I was surprised at how close they were. The texture is different, but the color is dead on.

This has become a great little product. It's a bit sticky and it sits on your lips very creamy, and lasts quite some time. It's not moisturizing, but the feeling is a bit more welcome than a lipstick as it's getting colder outside. Thanks for this one.

Skyn Iceland Wipes

These are kind of great. Good introductory package. The problem with wipes are that I do not know if some really perform better than others? This removes all face makeup like a breeze, but it does get stuck in regards to mascara. For the past few months I have been using Benefit's They're Real and that stuff really stays on. Cannot fault the wipes.

Bonus Item!
Bodyography electric lip slide in Cupid's Beau
This thing is frigging awesome! It has a very sweet smell to it, which pairs perfectly with the sweet pink color. I thinks it's a perfectly flattering color and it's very smooth feeling.

This applies very similar to the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream, only its far less sticky. It never sets, so you will forever have a cream on your lips.

Definitley worth the redemption of 500 points for sure.