(NARS Multiple in Copacabana and South Beach, Benefit blush in Ten, Mario Badescu Seaweed Cleansing Lotion, Creme de La Mer moisturizing cream, MAC Fluidline gel eyeliner, Chanel Teint Innocence, Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine, Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate, Boots Illuminating Lotion, Ecotools brush, YSL Touche Eclat, Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Stray Dog, Stila liquid eyeliner, Bumble and Bumble Undressing Creme, Vaseline, Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream, Biologique Recherche Crème Dermopurifiante, Shu Uemura Essence Absolue, Kiehl’s Creme de Corps, Evian Brumisateur)
I have sort of a fluctuating, wandering eye type of relationship with makeup – sometimes I become fixated on trying new products, and then I’ll go weeks at a time using the exact same five. And then there’s the massive stockpile underneath the sink I dive into now and then (last investigation turned up some Cargo bronzer I decided to re-love for a couple weeks). I’m actually more into skincare and creating the ideal system for myself. My current favorite look is just clean skin with a hint of cream blush and liquid liner catted out at the corners and a sweep of MAC’s Shroom eyeshadow or NARS Copacabana for a bit of sheen.
Above are my current favorites I’m playing with. Bumble and Bumble’s new texturizing cream is an update to their legendary surf spray, the tiniest bit gives you just the right amount of mussed up texture. My hair has this sort of inconsistent wave naturally so it really plays it up perfectly without giving me like, dreadlocks. Sometimes I’ll follow up with a bit of the Shu Uemura Essence Absolue oil at the tips, mostly because it smells like everything good about flowers without the fake perfumey thing most similar products have. I became addicted to Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser when Kiehl’s Japan sent some to my hotel room in Tokyo last December, I’m on my second repurchase right now. I love that it’s unscented and so mild. I’m obsessed with unscented things. I’m not so faithful when it comes to moisturizers, I feel like they’re all so different so I’ll alternate a bunch. Their Creme de Crops is my favorite all-over moisturizer but I always have a vat of Cetaphil moisturizing cream around too. The only color I’ll experiment with for the most part is blush and bronzers, for summer a quick smudging of a NARS Multiple is enough but for evening I’ve been using Benefits half and half “10″ bronzer. It’s pretty. For my lips 95% of the time I’m probably just using a bit of Vaseline/Aquaphor, if I do lip color I gravitate towards the zombie look with MAC’s C-thru or NARS Chelsea Girls. Readers will ask me what lip color I’m wearing and most of the time it’s nothing. I feel like I’m always too aware of it when I’m wearing anything heavier on the lip. The last few months I’ve been using Chanel’s now discontinued (whimper) Teint Innocence but I also like Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk foundation, both good because they’re buildable and give sort of a glow-y look. My next task I’ve assigned myself is to try to find organic products that don’t suck. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments, I’m curious!
(LF dress, fashiontoast x Dannijo Arc necklace, Topshop ‘Antique’ boots, Pamela Love mood ring)
Wednesday night with Magnus Berger’s Last Magazine at Indochine and Dominion..I had a lot of fun hanging out with my bff Bryanboy, my friends at Kanon, Sonny Vandevelde, Amanda Norgaard, and the beautiful Prabal Gurung…I wore the drapiest sheer dress I own, some very walkable suede boots I got at Topshop in Soho earlier that day, and this necklace I designed with Dannijo that I’ve been wearing nonstop lately. Check out the rest of the photos we took at Kanon’s blog here.
PS since there are a few makeup questions, I’m wearing MAC fluidline eyeliner, Urban Decay Afterglow Cheek Tint in Indecent (obsessed with these, UD gave me a bunch and I love all of them…Fetish and Score are my favorites), La Mer The Powder, Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss in Nude Lustre, and Bobbi Brown eyeshadow from a random palette I forgot I had.
Today’s makeup and sunset in Tokyo (with a just barely visible Mt. Fuji in the distance)..actually didn’t step outside once today because I was working all day at an event in the hotel but it looked nice. The hotel is so magical and easy to get lost in that it’s a good one to camp out in. Maybe it was freezing? Blandly temperate? Tomorrow I will venture forth for the opening of the Marc Jacobs store in Aoyama but for now it’s off to sleep.
Some of my favorite products:
- Boots No7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes – I could never manage traveling without these..long stretches with minimal access to trustworthy sinks make them my best friend. But now I’m actually using them more instead of washing my face with soap and water too much even when acceptable sinks abound..it seems more gentle. And also very lazy person-friendly.
- Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré – Makeup artist staples get my attention…I always ask them about what they’re doing and what their favorite products are when they work on me, I’m sure it’s extremely irritating. This is right before I ask them to un-extend the smoky eyes they just did on me or if they could use my mascara instead. Yes I am indeed the worst. This moisturizer is light and almost fluffy and absorbs into the skin in about three seconds, and apparently it triples as a primer and makeup remover too. Maybe I’m over-romantizing it’s French origins but I swear it lends a glow and has a clean almost herbal scent to it. Obsessed. I love when something that a million people swear by is really that good.
- Boots No7 High Lights Illuminating Lotion – I add this luminizer to moisturizer or foundation in small quantities, and it also works on the inner corners of the eyes for a slight sheen. It’s pretty. And it lasts forever.
- Giorgia Armani Luminous Silk Foundation – I hate most foundations and distrust both anyone’s ability to color match me and their opinions on what’s good. So feel free to write this off, I’ll understand. But I don’t think I’ll ever use anything else. Easy to use and buildable, and even the smallest amount looks somehow both matte and dewy.
- Maybelline Volum’ Express waterproof mascara – I really love mascara and this is the only one that will do. I stock up so I don’t have to put off throwing it out after a month.
- Stila Smudge Pot – I’ve wanted to try this forever but was confused on how to transfer the contents of a little black pot cleanly to my eyes. Then I found one of those pointy brushes in a random eyeshadow palette I had lying around and immediately became addicted. It really doesn’t budge.
- Stila Eye Shadow Trio in Rocker – All the color I need is apparently none. Goes on smoothly and easily creates an intense look with the blackish section or something pretty with a just a touch of shimmer. I like only having to bring one eyeshadow when traveling, my shoes take up everything else’s fair share of space.
If you’re in the mood to check any of these out, you have 12 hours from when this posts to get a pretty sweet deal from Beauty.com through Tada – a $15 purchase gets you a $30 gift card to spend. Not sure how that’s even possible but before they realize the lack of logic to this deal might as well use it. Hope that quells some people’s curiosity about my makeup routine…since makeup is apparently one of the first things people look up in association with my blog (this has always confused me) I felt kind of compelled. I’m hardly an expert but I do know what I like.
