Product Review: Pond's Cold Cream

Product: 4 out of 5
Packaging: 3 out of 5
Quality: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Price: $3-$5 at drugstores, Target, Walmart
Would I buy again? Yes

What it does (from their website):  Gentle yet effective deep cleansing action removes hidden dirt and make-up, even stubborn waterproof mascara. Its special blend of ingredients softens as it cleanses in one simple step so your skin feels smooth and radiantly clean & never tight or dry.

Ingredient list and additional information can be found here: Pond's Cold Cream.

Directions: Smooth generously on the skin with the fingertips. Gently remove with a tissue, cotton or a damp washcloth for a truly deep cleanse. Even the most stubborn make-up is lifted away while essential oils and emollients replace moisture, leaving skin soft, smooth and supple. For extra freshness, rinse off with warm water.

Ideal for those with dry skin as well.

PROS:
- Does a really great job at removing makeup, even hard to remove (waterproof) makeup such as eyeliner, foundation, eyeshadow, etc.
- Makes removing fake eyelashes easy by taking a q-tip with a lil of this cream and rubbing it along the lash line and gently peeling off the eyelash.
- Smells great and is very moisturizing, it's a thick cream, little goes a long way!
- A lot of product for your money, will last a very long time, and very affordable.
- Does not burn the eyes and very safe for the eye area.
- Isn't oily or greasy, does not leave a greasy residue after you wipe it off.
- No need to rinse afterward. 

CONS:
- Kinda too big for travel.
- Not too fond of the fact that it's in a tub, simply because I don't like double dipping, and if your hands are dirty if you are in the middle of removing your makeup, you risk contaminating the jar and getting all the cream dirty. I wish it was in a form of some pump bottle, but I think it's because the cream is just too thick for it to be in a bottle.

Overall: I liked this cream, it is definitely my go-to makeup remover when I go swatch crazy and need something to remove stubborn makeup off my hands. I also like using it all over my face at nighttime and wiping the makeup off with a nice hot towel, makes me feel so clean and refreshed, and no need to rinse afterwards as it does not leave an oily residue. It smells great and I also love how it was safe for the eyes and didn't burn my eyes upon use and left my skin soft and smooth. And there is so much product for your buck! I would definitely buy this again.

 

Random swatches of makeup....

 

Should see the makeup and dirt lifting...

 

Below is a video review of the Pond's Cold Cream, I apologize in advance- I was nervous! 

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Prod. Review: Sonia Kushuk Retractable Brush

 

Product: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Quality: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5
Price: $9.99 at Target
Similar items: Foundation and Powder Brush also from Sonia
Would I buy again? Yes

I was looking for a small retractable brush to keep in my makeup bag (since I have no idea where my other one went!). I like using a brush for touch ups as oppose to a powder puff when applying my MAC Sheer Powder to combat shinyness because powder puffs tend to hold a lot of bacteria (such as the sweat and dirt from your face).

I went to Target and saw this retractable blush brush from Sonia Kushuk. She has another one that's a foundation brush and powder brush in one (one on each end) for $14.99, but I just wanted something simple so ended up getting this one. Even though it's a blush brush, it's a perfect size for the touch ups I wanted to achieve. The bristles are made of natural hair and feel really soft to the touch. It retracts easily and pretty nifty for travel. It's almost the size of my hand, just so you can get an idea of how big it is.

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FOTD: A quick & easy natural look

Often times, the fiance and I are just chilling at home for the night when all of a sudden last minute he decides he wants to go to the movies, or the grocery store, or Denny's, haha. And I just got out of the shower! So I have only 5 minutes to change, brush my hair, and look somewhat decent! LOL.

If we are just doing a simple errand, of course I don't need to put on a full face, but I personally want to look at least somewhat awake and refreshed. The look below was very easy to do, and didn't even take me 5 minutes.  And you can easily accomplish this by:

1.) Quickly dab a few dots of concealer under the eye and blend. This hides any dark circles, diminishes the look of any puffiness, and gives you a more 'awake' look.
2.) Apply a tinted moisturizer to your entire face (I use Dior's tinted moisturizer). This moisturizes your face after your shower as well as giving you a nice natural tint to cover any discolorations, blemishes, or uneven skin tone.
3.) Apply a few coats of mascara on your lashes. This opens your eyes and makes them stand out so you don't look tired or dead looking. You will be amazed at the difference just applying a coat of mascara makes! (Optional: You can also apply a quick sweep of a neutral eyeshadow such as MAC e/s in "Bisque", or "Orb" on your entire lid before applying mascara)
4.) Shade in your eyebrows, since eyebrows shape your face, shading them in can make the rest of your face pop.
5.) Dab cheeks with a blush color of your choice. My favorites are MAC "Springsheen" and MAC "Stereo Rose" MSF because they have a nice soft sheen to it and look very natural on the skin. What I love about blush is that it adds warmth to your face.
6.) Finish off with either chapstick or a lipgloss, or even a light colored lipstick.

What I used:
[Face]
- Lorac Double Feature Concealer in DF2 under the eyes
- Dior Tinted Moisturizer (Shade #2)

[Cheeks]
- MAC "Stereo Rose" MSF

[Eyes]
- 2 coats of L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara
- Anastasia Brow Pencil in "Medium Ash" on brows

[Lips]
- MAC l/g in "Red Devil"

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Halloween Part II

Hello my loves! Hope you all had a great Halloween! Yesterday was my best friend's Halloween party and she is literally obsessed with Halloween! She goes all out every year and usually I am reluctant to dress up since costumes are so expensive these days, and you only end up wearing it for a day, but this year I wanted to actually dress up for her party instead of always "putting something together". So I chose to be a Sheriff!

BTW, some of you asked who won the costume contest at work and the panda won 1st place, followed by Antoine Dodson, and Wilma from the Flinstones. Also, for those of you that do not have blogger, or any other means I can contact you but took the time to leave a comment, I just want to say thank you for your kind words! It means a great deal and I am happy to be blogging again. :)

 

 I decided to go with a purple smokey eye look:

What I used:
[Face]
- MAC StudioFinish Concealer in NC30
- MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20
- Buff'd Customized Mineral Foundation (Almond/Chamois)
- Finished with MAC Sheer Powder in NC35

[Cheeks]
- MAC MSF in "Stereo Rose"
- MAC Blush in "Fashion Frenzy" from the Fafinette Collection

[Eyes]
- MAC e/s in "Vex" as highlight and browbone
- MAC e/s in "Knight Divine" on eyelid
- MAC e/s in "Red Violet" (PRO) and "Parfait Amour" over the knight divine
- Milani e/s in "Storm" on outer lid and crease
- MAC Fluidline in "Blacktrack"
- Ardell Demi Lashes #102
- MAC liquid eyeliner in "Boot Black" over lash line on the falsies
- Anastacia Eyebrow Pencil in Medium Ash

[Lips]
- MAC l/s in "Snob"
- MAC Dazzleglass in "Extra Amp"

 The fiance's costume:

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Halloween Part I

Today was Halloween at work, and every year we have a costume contest and a nice little pizza party which is always fun, since we get to see everyone's costumes.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I was planning on being a baby for Halloween because I thought it would be more work appropriate than other costumes and not to mention super comfy and baggy (you get to wear pajamas to work!) I have never been a fan of Halloween, just because I hate dressing up and can never figure out what I want to be. But I always end up dressing up anyway because I have to admit, it's kinda fun to be someone else for a day, and because my best friend's bday is October 26th and she LOVES Halloween- I always find myself dressing up for her birthday parties (like the one tomorrow, which is a whole other costume!)

I wanted to keep my makeup simple, because babies don't wear makeup silly! I just wore eyeliner (MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack), some false eyelashes, and MAC Dollymix blush on my cheeks. I originally wanted to be a baby doll, but scrapped that idea because I didn't have a lot time this morning. I bought the pajamas at Target (in the girls section), they are a size XL 14/16 and I am actually pretty surprised I fit in them because I am a bit tall, the women's version was double the price, so it was definitely a good deal!

What are YOU lovely ladies (and gents) dressing up as?

Here are some pics taken today at work:

Baby, Smurfette, Wilma and Betty from the Flinstones, and Jesus LOL!

Panda and Me

Antoine Dodson, "hide yo kids, hide yo wife!"

Haha we had two Jesus' and they were fighting for who was the "real" Jesus

Jesus & Little Red Riding Hood

Baby costume isn't complete without a pacifier!

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Wedding Invitations- Handmade.

I know I said I would try to keep this makeup related, but considering I haven't given much thought about my private blog yet (and because I am trying to make up for lost time! LOL) some readers have expressed they would like to join me on the wedding planning journey, as well as a few readers who are also currently engaged (congrats!) and wanted to see some of my ideas. I thought id share some of what we have so far because I have decided to make a few things myself (invitations, programs, and other small things) not only to save money but because I wanted to add a personal touch for our special day and I wanted our guests to 'feel' our personalities and give them a taste of the fun they will have at our wedding. We are aiming for October 1st, 2011. But weddings are so expensive, even a small simple wedding costs anywhere from $7K-10K, so I am crossing my fingers!

When we first started planning our wedding, we of course were looking for invitations that were already made and ready to order, but some were really expensive, even just 50 or 75 invitations, and to buy envelopes and RSVP cards were an additional cost. Because we plan on having 150-175 guests, we were looking at a pretty penny just for invitations alone. And some of them were just too plain.

I then decided to do something bold- make my own, yes all 150 of them- by hand. I talked to Bubs about it and he loved the idea but said "are you sure you want to do it?" because making each one by hand would be tedious (it is!). So I started off by playing with the idea and ordering a few sample papers, folders, etc. just to see what I can do with them considering I literally had NO CLUE what I wanted it to look like and knew I had to make a few mock-ups before I get it just right.

I ordered the materials from random places (papersource.com, paperandmore.com, anchorpaper.com, and the folders and belly bands from cardsandpockets.com), I then decided I wanted to look into embossing so I bought tons of floral stamps from eBay and other random places along with embossing powder just to see what I can do with it. Total cost roughly is a lot cheaper imo. Below is a picture journey from my original thought, to how it looks like now after making so many changes.

Our colors are pink (like a fuchsia mix) and black, but we are adding pops of colors at the actual reception. Below is just the folder and belly band by itself.

 

My embossing 'equipment' with the special embossing heat tool (from Michaels and JoAnn's), makes a cool raised effect and had fun playing with certain patterns:

 

 

I was then playing with the idea of making my own envelope liners using our picture (I want it black and white but used a color picture to test), I used a cutting mat and a cutting knife along with an envelope template (from papersource.com) to cut out the picture for a perfect fit:

 

The RSVP cards I also printed and made myself on Photoshop (this was the first trial run, it looks different now but don't have a recent pic of it):

Cutting!

Belly band glued on with a 2 x 2 custom monogram (I hated this version!):

And here is how the invitation currently looks (below), but it's not finished yet and honestly nothing is really final as I tend to change my mind a lot so it can look entirely different from now until months down the road! All the info is just for testing purposes so none of it is real, I just put some random things on the mock up for a more realistic feel. I also decided not to emboss the actual invites because it was just too time consuming and messy, so I will be embossing the mailing envelopes instead.

I decide to custom make the 2 x 2 monogram for the front of the invitation using our baby pictures in black and white which I designed myself. I thought it would be super cute to see us when we were kids, and then when they open the invite, they would see our engagment pictures (which we have yet to take). The monogram itself originally is on metallic paper and I had to have it specially printed (no way was I about to cut 150 squares myself!), but I got a lot of feedback from friends and family and that they preferred the matte paper better, so I might just have to change it to matte.

So how long does it take me to do each invite? It takes me about 5 minutes assuming all I am doing is gluing if everything is already printed.

 

 

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Makeup Storage//Soft MAC Carry All Case

The fiance and I recently moved to a new place earlier this year- and thus made it much easier for me to store my makeup with the extra space we have acquired; (he thinks it will give me an excuse to fill up the extra space with *gasp* more makeup which will then slowly start to seep to his office/gym room haha).

I know I have old random posts in regards to makeup storage, but this is my most recent way of organizing my makeup as of late, granted I hardly wear much makeup nowadays because I find myself to be too lazy to do any full on looks. But nonetheless, my makeup needs a home!

I know I am probably going to get a few questions as to where I got most of these organizers from, so I will list them down with each pic. :)

My vanity all clean (I don't remember where I got this actual vanity from, I get a lot of questions about this from older posts but my mom ordered it for me from Washington when they moved so I have no clue), but it's actually a child's vanity and I can sit in it fine, you would never think it's a child's vanity.

 

My lipgloss holders and MAC eyeshadow palette holder- The "lipgloss holders" are actually pen cup holders I bought from Staples. The one on the left is much bigger and it's a clear acrylic cup that you can personalize and add a picture (chose the one with me and bubs in hopes that he'll continue to support my makeup addiction! Ha!). I put all my dazzleglasses and tinted lipglasses in these babies and they fit all of them! The clear acrylic holder that houses my makeup palettes is actually a DVD holder (flipped sideways) that I got from the Container Store. They fit perfectly in it. Some of my palettes are also in my new soft case since those are the ones I frequently use.

My plastic drawers- These hold my other misc. eyeshadows, blushes, etc. I believe I got these at Walmart or Target, and they are real cheap too! The Hello Kitty Brush Holder on top I bought when MAC came out with the Hello Kitty collection, I now use it to house my Urban Decay eyeliners (which I love!)

The "Rose Wall" (Lipstick holders & Clear Acrylic Drawers)- This is what I call my 'rose wall'. When we first moved bubs and I did some decorating, and I chose to have one little wall section of our bedroom to have a girly flair so I used an applique on the wall (easy to put on and remove) from Michael's. Goes great with our kitchen plates that have this design. Because this wall is the furthest from our window, I chose it to store my lipsticks (to prevent them from melting during California's hot summers). On the separate tray of lippies, I stored all the special/limited edition lipsticks (I noticed I buy two per collection!). These acrylic trays I got from Folica, and the other one from eBay. The clear acrylic drawers in the middle hold my MSF's, MAC eyeshadows and few holiday and concealer palettes. And of course, they are accompanied by old pics of bubs and I when we were younger! (Wedding slideshow pics possibly??? LOL)

 

I also recently bought the MAC Carry All Case (the soft one) as bubs already got me the hard train case for Christmas last year. I love this case. It's perfect for overnighters or weekend trips. Even though I have my other overnight bag, this one just seems to fit more stuff. Everything I need. It fits a stack of MAC makeup palettes, my moisturizer, my brush roll (not pictured), my Urban Decay Naked Palette, and has compartments for everything such as a few lipsticks, foundation, blushes, you name it. The only thing I wish it has was a handle on the top so I don't have to carry the shoulder strap all the time. But it has a nifty little mirror on the inside lid for your convenience. The problem carrying the other HARD case, is the fact that it's too heavy, which may not be ideal when you are running through the airport, or for small trips. The soft case just makes it easy to bring along since it's so light and big enough to hold everything.

 

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Is this still on? Check mic...1, 2, 3

Hi.

Yes it's me. No I am not a ghost. (*Thinks* "Man this feels so foreign to me now...")

I was just reading some of the c-box comments (which I have now locked), and the rumors are pretty hilarious I must say. I read one that the reason I was getting married or stopped blogging was because I was pregnant and that I was something else (which I prefer not to say because I want to keep things at a G rating or PG-13 at least LOL). But....um no.

Definitely NOT pregnant! But nice try.

I needed time away from this blogging world, and now attempting to come back to the blogging world makes me realize why I slowly disappeared in the first place- all the negativity. The snide comments, and fighting (readers with other readers). ANY blog, whether it be about cameras, makeup, celebrities, weddings- all have its share of negative Nancy's. And it's disheartening that you cannot spill out your innermost thoughts or opinions, without someone saying something so negative and demeaning rather than something more constructive, but "hey it's the online world Vanessa, what do you expect?". You are ABSOLUTELY right. Hence why I needed to step away longer than I had anticipated. I needed to clear my mind from any garbage. No matter what is said or done, there are people in life and in the online world that feel empowered by putting other people down, they misconstrue their rude comment as just having an opinion. And with all these young kids committing suicide because of bullying, it's really sad we hurt each other like that, and we allow ourselves to keep pushing and taking it too far. Because life is just too short for any type of pettiness. YOU ARE better than that. Just gotta ignore any bad apples, and even though it was sweet that people were coming to my defense, sometimes it just fuels the fire ya know? Sometimes the best thing is to not say anything at all.

I am actually thinking of creating another blog, and it WILL be private, and hey if some of the wonderful friends I have met on here find it, then great. But I WANT to blog about more than makeup, I WANT to blog about my wedding preparations sans baby, I WANT to say how I feel and not be judged, and just be MYSELF. Something I find that I can no longer be on here. Makeup is fun, but it's not something I prefer to be stressed about or argue about. I started this blog for it to be a useful reference. How it turned into World War II is beyond me. I am hesitant and don't want to divulge, any more of myself than I already have on here because I feel like it's not really welcomed by some and perhaps it's just causing more drama than there needs to be. It's becoming too much of a task, and there are people that expect so much when they give so little.

So I have to force myself to just keep everything strictly makeup related whenever I can post. Even posting makeup looks is something I am considering of not doing anymore, and just perhaps do product reviews and random swatches. I am basically going to TRY and start fresh.

But I will say for those who even care or wonder, that I DO appreciate the wonderful comments and prayers from my last post. Truly meant a lot to me. To have complete strangers include my family in their prayers filled me with overwhelming emotion. To give you a little update, grandma is doing remarkably well and is slowly getting back to her old weight and is becoming stronger and healthier. She is done with treatments and I am just so amazed by this woman's strength and will. And I hope that it just goes up and up from here.

I am happy with my life in this moment. So much has changed in the past year and a half, some both great and bad, but it has made us into stronger people. We are barely getting around to planning the wedding, as many things in my life (including this blog) have been pushed aside. I am happy that everything is slowly falling into place. I feel like I have matured both mentally and emotionally as well, my mindset is so completely different than it was compared to the time when I was blogging all the time. It's like I was always seeing things in a blurred vision, and now that I know what's priority and what is important- everything is so much clearer. You know what's worth fighting for, and what's not. You become grateful for what you have, and the people you have in your life that are there for you no matter what. And all the small things are just so trivial and unimportant. It's like those who never imagined themselves having children, and they do, and now they cannot imagine life without their kids. It's like that for me.

Even if I can't make a difference in someone's life, I hope that all of you will continue to make it a mission to be inspirational to someone and to just appreciate one another. We all have a place in this world, just a matter of finding where you fit.

So I leave you with this quote I found:

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou

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Yes, still alive. Thankfully.

Yes. I am still alive...

I have reasons for my long absence. Some of which I feel should not be disclosed in detail here simply for the privacy for my family, but to sum it up; both my grandparents have been very ill. And no not a cold, or a flu, but rather life-threatening complications. I have been so busy physically taking care of both my grandparents, taking them to their endless doctor appointments, surgeries, and therapy; waiting 2 months anxiously to see if all the medications and therapy is working, as well as trying to plan a wedding (which is another reason as to why I haven't bought any makeup!), save up and look for a place, and all the while working a full-time job managing 8 people. You can imagine that the last thing on my mind is to get on a computer period; let alone take pictures, edit them and do reviews, as well as responding to countless emails and comments. This also explains my absence across the web, or my sporadic updates on Facebook. And yes, even though "it only takes a few minutes" to post something, I have been so exhausted and emotionally drained; and each day has become so robotic for me, that there are just some things that went on the back burner, and thus includes me even remotely being on a computer.

The feeling of watching someone close to you go into surgery, and not knowing whether they will come out ok, is scary and it's hard for me to even describe it without bursting into tears.

I apologize to all of my loyal readers who have followed me post after post, day after day, from one life experience to another. I am SO incredibly grateful to those of you for your undying support, who understand and need no further explanations from me. It saddens me however that there are some people who were angered by my lack of writing about something so petty and trivial such as makeup which pales in comparison to the chaotic and most trialing time my family as well as myself is enduring. To even going as far as attacking my sister, and some of my family members who did ME a service by offering to respond to some of you. I am sorry if any of you felt like I abandoned you, but understand I could not and would not abandon my grandparents, or any one in my family who needed me there. Everything happened so fast and all at once; hitting me like a ton of bricks. That up to now it's still hard for me to swallow and wrap my head around everything, and therefore I was unable to even keep anyone in the loop, including my friends in real life.

I am honestly not obligated to blog for anyone. PERIOD. Unless you are putting money in my pocket or a smile on my face, I owe you nothing, as I don't expect anything from any of you. I blogged to help people with swatches, new products, or the makeup-challenged, and now that I have to turn my back for a bit to help my grandparents, I feel like I am being shunned. I could have been dead for all you know, and yet it's rude that I haven't blogged?!! There are MILLIONS of other beauty blogs, and anyone is more than welcome to start their own to entertain themselves, but to seriously talk crap because one hasn't blogged, and not even knowing the rhyme or reason as to why they haven't blogged is just RIDICULOUS. IT'S MAKEUP PEOPLE!!!! When it comes to my family, they are first no matter what. I am not going to even THINK about tweeting or blogging, or updating my Facebook wall just to say "Taking my grandpa for his surgery to get the fluid out of his lungs". And if you still feel like I should have blogged about all this sooner, again the last thing on my mind. It's personal and irrelevant to this blog.

This sad situation has made me realize that life begins and essentially ends, whether we like it or not. We MUST enjoy every minute we have with those we love, because nothing in life is guaranteed. Everything is in God's hands and all I can do is pray to have one more day and one more minute with the people I love. And as I grow older, I realize that my parents, as well as my grandparents are too, getting older, and their health is deteriorating. It's now my turn to take care of the people that helped take care of me.I have chosen FOR NOW to spend my time enjoying the company of my grandparents and to make sure that they are comfortable. I hope and pray that they are still here to watch me get married, and here long enough to see their great-grandkids.

It's hard to see the two people who practically helped raise me be in so much pain and I sit here feeling helpless because I cannot take the pain away.

Being the oldest, and the only one that lives near my grandparents; I must be strong for not only them, but for myself. I have to be there in every way shape or form. I DO miss blogging, and talking to the friends I have made here since I started this, and I hope that soon or oneday in the near future, even as an escape to everything that has been going on; that I can blog again. Maybe not as frequently, but I do hope that even if I am unable to blog about makeup, that I can at least blog about other things that are important to me, or to even just get some things off my chest. I am trying to not think about the inevitable so much, and to just take things day by day...but it's hard to imagine my life without them.

Again, I want to thank you all who have stood by this blog, or even me for that matter, and for just being true friends through and through. Many of you longtime readers know that this is the first time I have gone so long without blogging, and I would never intentionally just 'stop' without an explanation. I apologize for letting 3 months go by in silence, but it's been the hardest 3 months of my life. I do hope that once I have some peace of mind that everything will be ok in terms of my family's health, that I can pick up where I left off and continue to give you all something to read. Thank you again, and I love you all.

- Vanessa

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