Makeup! Clothes! "Girly stuff" thread

[Barbarella]

For those who like Pore Professional by Benefit, give Baby Skin primer a try. Drugstore brand, cheap, (by Maybelline), and at least for my skin type, does a great job.

I'm a Retin A user. They won't do a brow wax at a Benefit eyebrow counter if you admit to using it. So if you can tolerate a wax without your skin ripping off, check no on their form. But be careful, while those meds have amazing benefits, there are downsides too. Retin A, Differin and others can thin your skin.

 

[For The Internet]

You guise, I need some help. I am really trying to sort out my lips and skin and I really need some advice. I will put my questions in bold so you can skip the autistic novel I am writing more easily.

My wedding is fast approaching and contrary to my every day rule of fuck lipstick, I found this awesome colourpop matte lipstick (I think it's Mars?) that I'd like to wear. The problem is that I have really, really dry lips and so when I put on any lipstick, especially a matte, you can see all the flaws.

I recently bought a Tony Moly lip scrub. Not sure what the ingredients are since it's in Korean but I'm pretty sure it has apricot kernel in it. It's nice and moisturising and everything but it doesn't get rid of the dry, dead skin at all because the particles are too large and far apart. I did what I usually do with scrubs that don't work well enough and chucked in a bunch of very finely ground brown sugar to help make it more gritty. I tried rubbing my lips together but it still doesn't feel like it's doing anything. I tried massaging it in with a soft head toothbrush as well, not sure how well that worked.

I guess I'm trying to ask, how can I get smoother, more moisturised lips so that I can wear a red matte lipstick without looking like something from a Kailyn photo shoot (minus the herpes)? I really like Korean products, I find they work best with my skin type, which is very dry, very sensitive and very fair, burns easily.

I'm also looking for Korean acne products to help get rid of acne spots. I only really get hormonal breakouts localised around my chin but it's hard to find Korean products that deal with the acne itself even though there are hundreds marketed to reducing the red post-acne spots. The reason I'm looking for Korean ones is that I find western products too harsh for my skin most of the time. Right now I use Clean and Clear's advantage fast clearing spot gel for breakouts and I use Banila Co's clean it zero purity for sensitive skin along with a soft bristled brush as my daily cleanse/exfoliation. I need a daily exfoliation or else my skin will peel.

I would like a really good lip balm to wear throughout the day and even the night to help constantly moisturise but I don't particularly want a tinted one and I'd prefer one that doesn't leave a sticky sensation or marks on my pillow. Any suggestions?


@sapph I totally recommend oil-based cleansers too. The one I use is Banila Co's Clean It Zero Purity for Sensitive Skin and even though you'd think oil-based cleansers are bad for oil prone skin they are a miracle. The Banila one starts off as a sort of sorbet and breaks down into a water-soluble oil. I used to get a really shiny forehead in spite of it being super dry but since I started using that oil based cleanser it almost never gets shiny.

Just one more question to edit in:

What brow products do you guys swear by?

PL: I have one eyebrow that is not even with my other one because of the muscle, which causes it to sit higher on my face than my right eyebrow does. I have tried having beauticians wax them to be more even but it never works out, they always look weird.
Is there anything I can do about this? What eyebrow-taming methods do you guys swear by like a certain brow shaper, threading, certain gels or pencils or stencils. I really want even eyebrows for my wedding photos!

 

[For The Internet]

Anyone have any recs for duochrome polishes? I got Essie's For the Twill of It on a whim during livelovepolish's Black Friday sale, and I'd love to get a few others, whether indie or drugstore.

Not duochrome but there's a F.U.N Lacquer called Edgy (lol) that's a purple/blue/green multichrome glitter polish in a black gel base. I actually got it as a substitute because live love polish was out of the F.U.N Lacquer polish I actually wanted (I think it was Coral Reef or something?) and it was the same price. At first I wasn't crazy about it but I put it on top of a metallic gold (A England's Holy Grail - best, most metallic and opaque gold I've ever tried) and a super opaque one coat black (Pretty Serious Absence) and did the dab method with a sponge that Simply Nailogical uses for maximum glitter payoff and it looked absolutely stunning. Totally changed my mind about the polish.

I know it's an older post but I can't resist double posting to sperg about nail polish. If anyone here wants super cheap one coat opaques and awesome glitters try out Pretty Serious. It's an Aussie indie brand I discovered last winter and I love them. The prices are low (most polishes are about 10.50 AUD, some higher and some lower), but as far as I'm concerned $10.50 is nothing to pay for the best one coat black/white polishes I've ever seen. Drugstore nail polish costs as much or more here and is a 10th of the quality.

 

[fire_fly]

Anyone have any favorite primers/setting sprays? I feel like nothing I try really does the trick or is lasting. I've tried every UD setting spray, a few Tarte primers, and NYX primers and sprays, and nothing really seems to help makeup stick to my face - after a few hours, no matter what, I have to reapply because my foundation is melting off.

I have the same problem. Unfortunately, if your skin is oily at all, I'm coming to realize it's something you'll just have to deal with. I'm starting to get all the right products in my routine so I'm not losing my makeup as quickly, but it takes a lot. I prime, I set, and then I set again with a different product.

I do have to ask, what's your skincare routine like? If you're not properly moisturized and prepped, that makes everything 10000% worse.

I've been using the sheer liquid veil sunscreen from Salma Hayek's Nuance line and I love it because it doesn't break me out and it's easy to apply.

Does anyone else have Keratosis Pilaris?

I tried that stuff, it was just a tiny bit too heavy for me, but I did like it. It was a lot like the Etude House Sunprise Sun Milk I was using for a while, minus the mattifying properties.

And I have keratosis pilaris. It's a huge fucking pain in the ass to deal with and I'm really bad about letting it get to the point where I have to scrub the living shit out of my skin to even lessen it. Which then makes my eczema go crazy for a few days.

-snip-

1. This isn't exactly the most ideal method and my teachers would probably be horrified at me for recommending this, but here's what I did when my lips were peeling badly: I would leave my glycolic cleanser on my face for like five minutes and let it eat the dead skin off. Once I ran out of that, I used peeling pads. It hurts, but it worked for me. And then I would literally cover my lips and the skin surrounding them with a heavy-duty lip balm, like the First Aid Beauty lip therapy.

2. Brows should be sisters, not twins.

 

[yasscat]

Does anyone else have Keratosis Pilaris?

And I have keratosis pilaris. It's a huge fucking pain in the ass to deal with and I'm really bad about letting it get to the point where I have to scrub the living shit out of my skin to even lessen it. Which then makes my eczema go crazy for a few days.

I have KP too. Absolutely nothing used to help, but with using Lush's Sandstone (a soap that has sand in it) and their Ocean Salt scrub, my skin looks so much better. I'm an exfoliation fiend (if I could exfoliate with gravel, I probably would), so the Sandstone soap just feels amazing. I highly recommend both of them for people with KP.

 

[fire_fly]

I have KP too. Absolutely nothing used to help, but with using Lush's Sandstone (a soap that has sand in it) and their Ocean Salt scrub, my skin looks so much better. I'm an exfoliation fiend (if I could exfoliate with gravel, I probably would), so the Sandstone soap just feels amazing. I highly recommend both of them for people with KP.

I actually have a sugar scrub that I got for free at my old job (it originally was meant for hair because what the ever-loving fuck Matrix) but when that eventually runs out I want to try the Ocean Salt scrub. I've heard good things.

 

[GRANDnumberofMULTIPLES]

I have KP too. Absolutely nothing used to help, but with using Lush's Sandstone (a soap that has sand in it) and their Ocean Salt scrub, my skin looks so much better. I'm an exfoliation fiend (if I could exfoliate with gravel, I probably would), so the Sandstone soap just feels amazing. I highly recommend both of them for people with KP.

Nice! I got Ocean Salt in one of the big Christmas gift sets but I've never tried sandstone. Exfoliation is the only thing that helped mine.

I had one of their charity pots from a couple years ago called Life's a Beach. Dreadfully messy (as it was like, literal sand) but my god. Super effective. My favorite part about going barefoot on beaches is leaving with baby-ass smooth feet.

 

[yasscat]

Nice! I got Ocean Salt in one of the big Christmas gift sets but I've never tried sandstone. Exfoliation is the only thing that helped mine.

I had one of their charity pots from a couple years ago called Life's a Beach. Dreadfully messy (as it was like, literal sand) but my god. Super effective. My favorite part about going barefoot on beaches is leaving with baby-ass smooth feet.

I am legitimately upset that I missed that charity pot. I haaaaate the one they have now. The smell is so gross to me.

Also, despite how messy (and just a pain in the ass in general) it is, now that I've been using Dark Angels on my face, I love it so much. It's been doing a really great job of controlling the oil on my face. After I use Dark Angels, I exfoliate with Ocean Salt (I told you I'm an exfoliation addict!) to get any stray black bits of the cleanser off my skin. It's a great cleanser because the exfoliation is really gentle, but ridiculously effective.

Their Sympathy for the Skin lotion is also amazing. It smells like banana custard and it's so hydrating without being greasy.

(I sound like I work for Lush, but I just really like their products!)

I actually have a sugar scrub that I got for free at my old job (it originally was meant for hair because what the ever-loving fuck Matrix) but when that eventually runs out I want to try the Ocean Salt scrub. I've heard good things.

...a scrub...for hair...??? I don't...what. Just...what.

 

[GRANDnumberofMULTIPLES]

I am legitimately upset that I missed that charity pot. I haaaaate the one they have now. The smell is so gross to me.

Also, despite how messy (and just a pain in the ass in general) it is, now that I've been using Dark Angels on my face, I love it so much. It's been doing a really great job of controlling the oil on my face. After I use Dark Angels, I exfoliate with Ocean Salt (I told you I'm an exfoliation addict!) to get any stray black bits of the cleanser off my skin. It's a great cleanser because the exfoliation is really gentle, but ridiculously effective.

Their Sympathy for the Skin lotion is also amazing. It smells like banana custard and it's so hydrating without being greasy.

(I sound like I work for Lush, but I just really like their products!)

ARE YOU ME? I love dark angels (also helped control the oil on my face) and exfoliation is my shower addiction. I can't wait to bust into the Ocean Salt from the same gift box. Love the Ro's Argan body conditioner because I'm a sucker for anything rose-scented. It came with a Rub Rub Rub bar which makes me feel like I've been cleansed with the power of 10,000 cat tongues licking me.

I love that feeling of super-smooth skin. Exfoliation is so fucking satisfying. I sometimes go a little too overboard with it so I don't do more than one exfoliating facial product in a day since it'll aggravate my skin. I have one of those little silicon face brush thingies from Forever21. I had an Olay Pro-X face brush but I got really tired of the waste of buying new cleaning heads and batteries. Really did get me super clean though. I thought about the Clarisonic and almost went for it (would have gotten a generous employee discount) but just felt kind of "eh" when it was finally time. Sure, it was rechargeable but the brush heads worked out to like $44 for a 2-pack. Even if it takes a couple months it was still the same song and dance as before to me.

But the Foreo Luna has me interested. Can't use it with exfoliating cleansers (and a whole host of other things that could possibly fuck up the precious little silicone things) but I would likely use it after taking off makeup with a gentle nighttime cleanser anyway. Using the little Forever21 gadget was great but having something powered would be an improvement. I'd feel better paying for this once over having to buy brush heads for however long. It'd be easier to make sure the surface is clean too.

 

[yasscat]

ARE YOU ME? I love dark angels (also helped control the oil on my face) and exfoliation is my shower addiction. I can't wait to bust into the Ocean Salt from the same gift box. Love the Ro's Argan body conditioner because I'm a sucker for anything rose-scented. It came with a Rub Rub Rub bar which makes me feel like I've been cleansed with the power of 10,000 cat tongues licking me.

I love that feeling of super-smooth skin. Exfoliation is so fucking satisfying. I sometimes go a little too overboard with it so I don't do more than one exfoliating facial product in a day since it'll aggravate my skin. I have one of those little silicon face brush thingies from Forever21. I had an Olay Pro-X face brush but I got really tired of the waste of buying new cleaning heads and batteries. Really did get me super clean though. I thought about the Clarisonic and almost went for it (would have gotten a generous employee discount) but just felt kind of "eh" when it was finally time. Sure, it was rechargeable but the brush heads worked out to like $44 for a 2-pack. Even if it takes a couple months it was still the same song and dance as before to me.

But the Foreo Luna has me interested. Can't use it with exfoliating cleansers (and a whole host of other things that could possibly fuck up the precious little silicone things) but I would likely use it after taking off makeup with a gentle nighttime cleanser anyway. Using the little Forever21 gadget was great but having something powered would be an improvement. I'd feel better paying for this once over having to buy brush heads for however long. It'd be easier to make sure the surface is clean too.

I have a Mia2, and honestly, my skin looks and feels cleaner with just using Dark Angels than it does when I use the Mia2. I've had it for...probably around a year and a half now? and honestly I just don't even reach for it anymore.

What I really miss is Aqua Mirabilis. That shit was amazing. I might try Rub Rub Rub...I've heard good things, but I'm not sure which "version" would work best for me. And I fucking love their sugar scrub, the green one that looks like a deformed hockey puck, but it's pretty much a one-time use product, and that shit is too expensive to only be able to use once.

 

[Fareal]

@Blake Bumbleby use the pot version of Rub Rub Rub rather than the bar version.

@For The Internet have you tried Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Lip Protectant? I swear by it. It also comes in a handy lipstick tube for tidy application and no leaking in your handbag

 

[Wafflehaus]

@For The Internet
I've tried a lot of sugar scrubs for my lips, but the one I think I've settled on is the e.l.f mint maniac lip exfoliant, because it's more like a fine sandpaper than huge sugar specks. (Also it's in a stick so way less messy.) I'm not sure if there's a better brand that has the same thing somewhere, I took a chance for 3 bucks and haven't looked past it.

My favorite balm is actually the C.O. Bigelow "my favorite night balm" It's really thick and does wonders for me, especially when I get a cold or whatever

 

[PropaGONDA]

Essay incoming, haha.

Does anyone else have Keratosis Pilaris?

I do and my mom does. I'm not as good with it as she is, but she got rid of hers by slathering vaseline on her arms (where her KP is) every day, twice a day. Once in the morning and once before bed. I've tried it before and it helps, but you have to be continually doing it or else it will come back. I'm a bit lazy in that regard and don't really care about having some bumps on my arms.

Hey, has anybody tried that Korean carbonation mask?

That Piggy mask? It's like $12, right? I loved it for the novelty and it did seem to make my face cleaner and less porous looking. It works really well for a lot of people! I have products (like the Aztec Secret clay) that work the same, it just doesn't bubble.

how can I get smoother, more moisturised lips

Exfoliation and moisturize. I tried higher end to cheaper end. Honestly, I use ELF's lip exfoliator. It's got a great texture, doesn't taste horrible, and is super cheap and portable. A lot of lip scrubs tend to be a pot and rely on fingers to apply, but the ELF one is a lipstick shape. The trick with exfoliation is not to overdo it as you make your lips worse, I learned the hard way from that.

After exfoliation you put on a really moisturizing lip balm. I like the Jack Black 15 SPF lip balm you get from Sephora. However, I can no longer buy it from where I am from so I use Rosebud Salve.

Korean acne products to help get rid of acne spots

I've had luck with Mizon's acence blemish out pink spot product. You can buy it online. It's a dupe of the Kate Somerville stuff they sell at Sephora, but at the fraction of the price. It's one part calamine and one part sulfuric acid. You put a q-tip into the bottle, the yellow sulfuric acid part, for daytime usage spot treatment. At night you would dip your q-tip all the way to the bottom in the pink part as spot treatment. It's helped me with the most troublesome cystic acne on my chin due to hormonal reasons (although those ones take more time to go away, with whiteheads they disappear the next day for me using this product). Can't live without this stuff.

a really good lip balm to wear throughout the day and even the night to help constantly moisturise but I don't particularly want a tinted one and I'd prefer one that doesn't leave a sticky sensation or marks on my pillow.

Again the Jack Black stuff. If you want an overnight lip treatment try Laneige's Lip Mask. I am pretty sure they still sell it at Sephora, or you can easily buy it online. It's not sticky and my lips feel great the next day.

What brow products do you guys swear by?

I've tried a lot of brow products. Depends what you are looking for. I have jet black hair so I use products that cater to darker colours. There aren't many in North America so I gotta splurge or import.

If you want those Instagram style brows, the Anastasia dip brow is a cult classic. It does work and has great pigmentation for little amount of product. You need to know how to handle yourself or it will look clownish. If you want similar pigmentation the MUFE Aqua Brow is great, and is waterproof. I wear that one to go swimming or a beach day.

My go-to for right now is pretty simple. I use Missha's the style auto brow pencil. Anastasia has come out with a similar product so I would not say Missha is a dupe when it existed first (and many iterations in the K-Beauty scene). I use Missha because it's cheaper and has the black colour that I use. It's different from other brow pencils in that it is on an angle for better precision.

I use a brow spooly to blend it. I fill in with Nyx's micro brow pencil (perfect and cheaper dupe of Anastasia brow wiz) to get into more precise areas the above pencil doesn't cover. Then I seal it all in with Anastasia brow gel. It does not budge.

For the other conversations-

For setting sprays, I love the UD Deslick setting spray for oily skin. It will last at least 6 hours for me before I reach for some blotting papers. I think to combat oily skin at it's root you need a good primer (I use a combination sun block one so it may not help a lot, it's by 3W Clinic) and skin routine to tame your skin.

I have owned the Clarisonic and Foreo Luna mini. They're both similar but different. I actually prefer the Clarisonic.

Clarisonic really feels like you're exfoliating and cleaning your face, even with the most sensitive brush head (which I used to use) and you could use exfoliating cleansers with it. The cons are that it's big and bulky and you have to replace the brush all the time.

The Foreo - I want to like it so much. It is more gentle, and you don't have to replace the brush heads which is what enticed me to buy it. It's also travel friendly and portable. I still use it because I gotta get my money's worth. Luckily Sephora has a great return policy because I shit you not, mine broke 4 times and I had to get them replaced because I could no longer get refunds due to time elapsed. The Foreo return policy is bullshit, they make you send it to Las Vegas or whatever so I just replace it with Sephora's policy, lol.

 

[widowspiderling]

That Piggy mask? It's like $12, right? I loved it for the novelty and it did seem to make my face cleaner and less porous looking. It works really well for a lot of people! I have products (like the Aztec Secret clay) that work the same, it just doesn't bubble.

ooh yeah! i bought my girlfriend the clay mask for her birthday last year and she fell in love with it. so i guess im gonna have to try the carbonation mask. thanks for the help!

 

[fire_fly]

...a scrub...for hair...??? I don't...what. Just...what.

It's meant to be a backbar treatment, but still. It's not like the Bosley two-step scalp exfoliator, which actually works. As far as I can tell it's supposed to be some kind of clarifying-plus-moisture treatment, but really you could just use a clarifying shampoo and a good mask and it'd work 1000% better.

But the Foreo Luna has me interested. Can't use it with exfoliating cleansers (and a whole host of other things that could possibly fuck up the precious little silicone things) but I would likely use it after taking off makeup with a gentle nighttime cleanser anyway. Using the little Forever21 gadget was great but having something powered would be an improvement. I'd feel better paying for this once over having to buy brush heads for however long. It'd be easier to make sure the surface is clean too.

I want one of those things too! If only because it seems like it'd be stimulating and it would feel nice. And it's really travel-friendly, which I like. I'm all about portable stuff because I like to be prepared for any situation. It's the same reason I keep so many packets of shampoo and conditioner and tiny bottles of styling product and skincare around.

I do and my mom does. I'm not as good with it as she is, but she got rid of hers by slathering vaseline on her arms (where her KP is) every day, twice a day. Once in the morning and once before bed. I've tried it before and it helps, but you have to be continually doing it or else it will come back. I'm a bit lazy in that regard and don't really care about having some bumps on my arms.

Please tell your mom to switch to coconut oil or something. Vaseline is occlusive and while it will keep moisture from escaping your skin, it also keeps oxygen out.

 

[bloodcoffee]

I have KP too. Absolutely nothing used to help, but with using Lush's Sandstone (a soap that has sand in it) and their Ocean Salt scrub, my skin looks so much better. I'm an exfoliation fiend (if I could exfoliate with gravel, I probably would), so the Sandstone soap just feels amazing. I highly recommend both of them for people with KP.

I have KP on my legs and I've found that glycolic acid products really helped control the look of it. I only shave my legs once a week (don't judge me) and I've found that worked as my once-a-week physical exfoliation. I'm eyeing up the Nip+Fab glycolic body cream, since I used to use their glycolic face pads on my legs out of desperation a couple times a week.

Guys. The salon messed up the colour of my hair (but the cut is great, it's just what I wanted). My hair was two different colours before they even started because I had around an inch of roots. My hair is now two shades of brown and I'd like it fixed. Is there an easy way to tell them that I want it fixed on the cheap because they messed it up? I hate confrontation.

 

[Broken Pussy]

You guise, I need some help. I am really trying to sort out my lips and skin and I really need some advice. I will put my questions in bold so you can skip the autistic novel I am writing more easily.

My wedding is fast approaching and contrary to my every day rule of fuck lipstick, I found this awesome colourpop matte lipstick (I think it's Mars?) that I'd like to wear. The problem is that I have really, really dry lips and so when I put on any lipstick, especially a matte, you can see all the flaws.

I recently bought a Tony Moly lip scrub. Not sure what the ingredients are since it's in Korean but I'm pretty sure it has apricot kernel in it. It's nice and moisturising and everything but it doesn't get rid of the dry, dead skin at all because the particles are too large and far apart. I did what I usually do with scrubs that don't work well enough and chucked in a bunch of very finely ground brown sugar to help make it more gritty. I tried rubbing my lips together but it still doesn't feel like it's doing anything. I tried massaging it in with a soft head toothbrush as well, not sure how well that worked.

I guess I'm trying to ask, how can I get smoother, more moisturised lips so that I can wear a red matte lipstick without looking like something from a Kailyn photo shoot (minus the herpes)? I really like Korean products, I find they work best with my skin type, which is very dry, very sensitive and very fair, burns easily.

I would like a really good lip balm to wear throughout the day and even the night to help constantly moisturise but I don't particularly want a tinted one and I'd prefer one that doesn't leave a sticky sensation or marks on my pillow. Any suggestions?


Just one more question to edit in:

What brow products do you guys swear by?

PL: I have one eyebrow that is not even with my other one because of the muscle, which causes it to sit higher on my face than my right eyebrow does. I have tried having beauticians wax them to be more even but it never works out, they always look weird.
Is there anything I can do about this? What eyebrow-taming methods do you guys swear by like a certain brow shaper, threading, certain gels or pencils or stencils. I really want even eyebrows for my wedding photos!

I use the Elf Exfoliator stick to exfoliate my lips, when necessary, but to keep them moist I put eye cream on them. Specifically, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream. Then I put a layer of Jack Black lip balm over that, to keep the moisture sealed in. I do that during my day and night routines.

About the eyebrows, I feel you. My face is asymmetrical, so one of my brows is a little higher than the other, plus, I have a scar messing with the hair on one eyebrow and I have thyroid disease, which can cause you to have bald spots in your brows. Plus, my eyebrows are blonde, and even the blonde pencils and powders end up looking darker than I like. Right now, I just use Anastasia's clear brow gel to make sure they look neat and then call it a day.

 

[AveraDiane]

What would be a good winter moisturizer? I have some dry spots on my face that show up when my foundation sets on my face.

 

[ScrewTheRules]

I only shave my legs once a week (don't judge me) .

Dude, I shave once every six months if you're lucky.

Guys. The salon messed up the colour of my hair (but the cut is great, it's just what I wanted). My hair was two different colours before they even started because I had around an inch of roots. My hair is now two shades of brown and I'd like it fixed. Is there an easy way to tell them that I want it fixed on the cheap because they messed it up? I hate confrontation.

Maybe try, 'it's not really come out the colour that I wanted, is there anything we can do about that?'
I find that when I'm not really feeling up to confrontation, open-ended questions and avoiding any 'you' or 'I' statements make things a lot easier.

 

[Barbarella]

Guys. The salon messed up the colour of my hair (but the cut is great, it's just what I wanted). My hair was two different colours before they even started because I had around an inch of roots. My hair is now two shades of brown and I'd like it fixed. Is there an easy way to tell them that I want it fixed on the cheap because they messed it up? I hate confrontation.

Well, don't delay. Call them back and say you love the cut but the color isn't right and can they redo? Any decent salon will have dealt with this many times and most stylists know these things happen. They should offer to fix it without cost. Don't think of it as a confrontation, think of it as an opportunity to make you a regular/happy client