Reader Questions

A lovely reader named Sindy sent me an e-mail a few weeks ago. Her inquisitive questions were fun, so I thought I'd answer then in a post.

Ms. Sindy U., this is for YOU dahlin'! Check out her blog, SINDYLICIOUS'S ADDICTION

Q. Are the L.A. colors palettes worth buying? I guess you know it already but Makeup mix shop have 20% off until Jan20 :)

A. Yes and No. They're under $5 USD/palette so you get what you pay for. The color payoff is fairly good, but they are VERY shimmery. They're not intended for long wear either. If you're stepping out for cocktails, it'll last...but if you plan on staying out after happy hour, dancing afterwards or engaging in other sweaty activity that I don't need to spell out for you, I would recommend you wear a good base underneath. Or use different eyeshadows altogether.

I have the green palette and the multi-colored one (rainbow colors). I left them at my ex's place and I don't miss them. If you're a frugal beauty mogul, I'd still save money and skip on these palettes. Spend your money elsewhere...like NYX. Which brings us to the next question...

Q. What do you think about the quality of NYX's e/s?

A. LOVE AT FIRST SWIPE. Most of them are not chalky, vibrant color payoff and are definitely intended for long wear. I have over 20 colors and I love them all. The matte ones are on the powdery/chalky side, but nothing you couldn't work with. My favorite color is 'Sahara', frosted yellow-toned neutral; it's great as a highlight. It's a believable dupe of MAC's 'Ricepaper' (I own both). I also love 'Eggplant'. It rings true to it's name, it's a shimmery deep eggplant color.

Q. I'm a huge fan of EDM!! Do you still use them?

A. NOPE. I've realized that EDM foundation does not suit my combination/sensitive skin. I've tried most of their formulas, and even the matte formula applied over a quality base can make my skin look like an oil slick. I speak from experience but everyone who's interested should try their products on their own. I do like their marketing strategy (all those inexpensive sample-sized products!), the wide range of colors, their cruelty-free brushes and their revamped website.

Q. Any mascara to recommend for stubborn short asian lashes? I am currently loving the Majolica Majorca mascara. It perfectly holds and volumizes my lashes.

A. Last May my friend in Texas turned me on to Maybelline's The Colossal Volum' Express mascara. She has short, stubby eyelashes, but with this wonderproduct on, she bats her lashes like a seasoned pro. My lashes are neither short or stubby, but I use this mascara like a crackwhore uses her drug of choice. I fiend for it, I feel naked without it! The magic lies within the formula. It's neither too watery or too waxy. The fat brush helps volumize and never clumps, no matter how many times you swipe the product on. People who usually don't come up to me at work have complimented my spider leg-esque lashes.

Q. I've fallen in love with MAC lovelorn lipstick since I saw it on your blog. I will try to go to check it at the store!! It's such a nice wearable pink that is not NUDE! Have you found other lipsticks similar to this color?

A. Lovelorn is a fun bubble-gum blue-based pink! Sadly, I haven't worn it much. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, Wet 'n Wild's 'Tokyo A-Pink-Pink' really delivers! It's creamy and pigmented, not to mention DIRT CHEAP. I'd wear it with neutral shadow and dark, winged liner!

Q. Are there any other MAC lipsticks that you can recommend or your favs...

A. I have many favorites but here are my top 6 faves. All the descriptions are from the M.A.C website

• Honeylove (Matte, light beige toned with rose) --> A wonderful matte nude that will never wash out pale skin. Stays put, and looks great under clear or colored gloss as well.
• Blankety (Amplified Creme, soft pink beige) --> Very similar to Honeylove, but a creamier version.
• Creme D'nude (Cremesheen, pale muted peach beige) --> A very wearable peach-nude. If you want to erase the natural pigmentation of your lips but don't want to wear a matte nude, try this one out.
• Freckletone (Lustre, neutral peach) --> A tad more on the beige side than any of the above. Great to wear under gloss or to mix with pink-toned lipsticks for that perfect pink-beige.
• Nude Rose (Lustre) --> From the DSquared2 collection. The color rings true to it's name. It's not too bright, I'd describe it as a dusty muted rose.
• MAC Red (Satin, vivid bright bluish-red) --> The only red that doesn't make me look forty-five.

Q. I am loving Stila's e/s right now and I don't own any MAC e/s. If I were to get, let's say 2 quads (one neutral and one with colors), which colors do you think I should pick?

A. Wow this question makes my brain hurt...just because there are SO many colors I recommend. But here are two quads I would create for those who don't own any yet (again, all finish and color descriptions are from their website):

Neutral Quad: You want a tint, a tone, a mid-tone and a shade.

• Vanilla (Velvet, peachy ivory with reflects) --> I use this as a highlight. Not too shimmery or white either.
• Soba (Satin, gold brown with gold shimmer) --> Great alone on the lids or under darker shadows. Works well in the crease if you're using a bright hue on your lids.
• Cork (Satin, muted golden brown) --> Slightly darker than Soba, and not as shimmery.
• Carbon (Matte, intense black) --> A must to smoke out any look. Also works great as a liner, just use a stiff brush to apply.
• Print (Satin, muted grey with shimmer) --> For those of you who don't like or are afraid of using dark shades such as black, try Print. It works well with beige and brown shades as well.

Bright Quad: Pick your favorite colors! There are NO rules here! Actually there are no rules when applying makeup, but when experimenting with bright hues, I say go all out! Here are my tried-and-true faves from M.A.C:

• Beautiful Iris (Veluxe Pearl, lavender with sheen) --> For a purple smokey look, I wear Beautiful Iris on my lids and smoke it out with Carbon or Print in my outer-corner/crease.
• Gorgeous Gold (Veluxe Pearl, muted yellow-gold) --> Goes well with browns.
• Freshwater (Veluxe Pearl, bright summer blue) --> A beautiful aqua, very cute with darker blues or pastels!
• Humid (Frost, intense green with shimmer) --> Brings out hazel and dark brown eyes.

Thanks for reading. Have a safe weekend y'all. Chuck deuuuuces, I'm out.

I'm alive, thanks for asking.

Well hello there. Do you remember me? The ex-avid beauty blogger with a potty mouth and a tendency to drop off the face of the earth without providing any witty insight as to why. Hey, it's none of your business anyway. But you love me, right? RIGHT?

I almost got rid of this thing. But I worked so hard on it, and back when I started blogging, it was one of the few outlets I had. I can't bring myself to hit 'DELETE BLOG' just yet. So until I find better hobbies than ogling at beauty/fashion blogs, drinking heavily and working overtime like an unhappy, undersexed middle-aged man, I will share with whatever readers I have my sporadic mind spray.

Today, I leave you with Mr. Hornet, or the Asian Giant Hornet, or Vespa mandarinia Japonica...colloquially known as the yak-killer. He followed me home on a very windy day and decided to take his fury out on my middle finger. Fucker got me GOOD! Doc told me if I ever get stung again I might die.

Random Brain Fart: The Japanese Failure of Medicine
Doctors are so full of sh*t sometimes, especially Japanese ones. They feed you nonsense or don't explain your malady, and prescribe you the wrong drugs. I can't tell you how many times I've passed out from overdosing on my doctor's account. They'll prescribe a dangerous cocktail of anti-inflammatory pills with lung-opening asthma patches. Yeah, one time I had the shakes like a heroin addict for weeks, and all I had was bronchitis! Since many of the doctors at smaller 'inner organ' or '内科' clinics lack the skill or are unequipped to diagnose a patient, they'll draw blood, send the sample to a lab or a University hospital, and ask you to come back for the result in seven to ten days. Of couse you have to pay for the blood exam...but you also have to pay them to get your results! I could go on and on about how Japanese health care sucks, but I'll do that some other time.

Enough mind-barf. Here's the sucker who got me on the day of the typhoon. Roughly ten minutes after my sister took these pictures, excruciating pain spread through not only my finger but my entire hand and my arm. Since a typhoon was raging through Tokyo, all public transportation had stopped...so I had to RUN my ass to the closest hospital, which is luckily only ten minutes away. But STILL. By the time I got to the hospital my hand was ice-cold. But anyway I lived to tell the tale and have pictures to share. ENJOY.