Update Post - What we're up to, and where we're going.

Hello there!  My one-year anniversary just slipped quietly by on August 10th.  I've been working on some more reviews, and also exploring exactly where I want to take Sugarpot. 

First, my objective has been morphing into a greater idea of beauty.  I want to explore not only beauty enhancements through cosmetics, but also beauty enhancements through a healthier lifestyle. 

You may have noticed that I look a bit different today than I did a year ago.  A year ago, I was about 25 pounds heavier, and was only losing weight through calorie deficiencies.  Meaning, I was eating less, but not working out.  After a few months of photographing myself every day, I started to become very aware of how I had to photograph myself to avoid looking overweight on camera.  I came to the conclusion that the only way to actually avoid it was to change it.

So, I joined a gym.

And, I didn't go.

After another month or two, I finally got the determination to make myself go, and I've been working out ever since.  I was doing a little bit of cardio and a little bit of weight training.

I got more serious about it, and learned how to jog.

I got more serious about it, and started a program specifically to lift heavy weight.

I've slowed down on the weight loss for a few months now, but I continue to slowly lose fat and gain some muscle.  That means I'm getting smaller, even though the scale stays the same.

I am a work in progress.  I hope by this year's end I will have met my goal of being back to my pre-pregnancy size, and a year from now I hope to be at my goal.  This is not a race.  Any positive health changes take time to implement and form to habit.

With that in mind, I think you'll see why I am introducing a new faucet to Sugarpot.  Coming soon, we will have a regular health feature.  These posts will be about working out, eating a healthy diet, learning about calories and nutrients, fostering an active lifestyle, and other topics geared towards showing you how easy it can be to change yourself into a healthier version of you.  We hope to have two of these posts per month. 

To take on this task, I have enlisted the help of a longtime friend.  Her bio will be coming soon!  I am not an expert in this area, and it makes sense to take Sugarpot from "me" to "we" to get the best information possible to you. 

Additionally, when I come across other tidbits of helpful information (such as a healthy recipe, or super-cute workout clothes), I'll be interjecting those posts.

Second, the makeup reviews are going to slow down just a bit.  I plan to have at least one makeup or skincare review per week, but I want to focus more on quality than quantity.  The current schedule has been to post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  The new schedule has not been set, but I'll let you know when it is ready to roll. 

Third, I hope to move Sugarpot to its own domain within the next year.  That move is going to take a lot of time, so I will be devoting a lot of unseen time to that endeavor.  I'll keep ya'll updated on how that is going, and we won't leave without you!

Fourth, and finally, I want to keep the guests posts going.  I love seeing those, and my statistic counts show that ya'll do, too.  If you have an idea for a post - whether beauty, cosmetics, hair, nails, or fashion - send us an email and let's collaborate!

Review! Boots No.7 High Lights Illuminating Lotion

I recently picked up a bottle of Boots No.7 High Lights Illuminating Lotion.  At Target, you can get it for $13 for 1 oz.  This container is huge.  It is also made of heavy glass and has a pump (yay, sanitary!), so the packaging feels very luxurious.

Here it is swatched out on my hand; dot, swath, and blended:

The whole reason I bought this is because I heard it was a dupe for Benefit's High Beam.  High Beam is $26 for .45 oz.  I have several minis of High Beam, which I bought specifically because I didn't want to shell out that much money for such a small bottle of glowy lotion.  I reviewed it here.

So, are they dupes?

Well.

No, I don't think they are exact dupes.  But, they are really, really close.  I expect dupes to be identical, so one cannot tell the difference of one from the other.  Benefit is on the right, Boots is on the left.

Boots High Lights is more lavender, thicker upon pumping out of the container, then becomes much less viscous (it turns liquidy) when you start to spread it around, and it sheers out very quickly.

Benefit's High Beam is much more pink, thin upon brushing it on the skin, quickly becomes more viscous (thicker) as you spread it around, and takes longer to sheer out.

Here, you can still see that Benefit is pink, while Boots is lavender.

Once blended in, they are nearly identical.  However, Boots is a a tiny bit more prominent than Benefit.  This picture is before I blended them out fully.  There was no difference in the photo once they were fully blended, so I did not include that.

So, are they dupes?  I say no, because they are slightly different colors, and they apply differently.  They are very, very close, though.  They are close enough that the price can be the deciding factor for me.  I really scrutinize the product to see how they differ; I doubt any casual observer would be able to tell the difference once they are blended out.

Overall, I would choose Boots over Benefit because of the sanitary pump, and because of the much lower price point.

Review! Holika Holika Praha Blossom Skin

I received a sample of Holika Holika Praha Blossom Skin with a purchase from PrettyandCute.com.

Pretty and Cute's website says:
Holika Holika Praha Blossom Skin is a toner that contains sake filtrate, which acts as a natural astringent. With the help of various plant and flower extracts, this toner restores moisture in the skin and helps retain it. Natural anti-bacterial plant properties help control acne trouble and pores size without making skin feel tight. Brightening ingredients even out skin tone and reduce the appearance of scars and dark spots for clearer and brighter complexion.

The sample I received was enough for three uses.  Because of that, I can't attest to the effectiveness as a brightener.

As a toner, this one performs nicely.  It does have that alcohol twinge to it when applied, but it did not burn my skin.  It does have a very light floral scent, but you really have to try to detect it, because the alcohol burns most of the scent away before it reached my face.  The alcohol scent was not overwhelming, and I thought that it was less strong than any drugstore brand I have tried.

The cotton ball did come away from my face discolored, so it was effective at cleaning my (makeup free) face.  I did not have any breakouts when using this, nor did I have any blemishes that needed clearing.  It did not leave my skin feeling tight, like toners that over-dry the skin do.  I liked that, because I usually feel that toners tend to make my face more oily because of that over-drying tendency.  I also thought that this one left my skin feeling clean, and not like I had a filmy layer of residue on it, so I didn't feel the need to rinse my face with water after using it.

Quite frankly, I don't usually use toners.  I purchase them every now and again, but I never use them for very long.  I would not re-purchase this soon, simply because toners are not a part of my usual routine.  If you like toners, though, I would tell you that I think this one is a nice one.

Review! Urban Decay Naked2

Just so my Naked palette wouldn't feel lonely, I bought Urban Decay's Naked 2 to go along with it!

They are quite cozy together in the tin I store them in.  Naked 2 came with a little sample size of Lip Junkie in Naked, and you can see my review of that here.

 Urban Decay says this palette has 12 Taupe and Greige Neutrals.   Greige means grey, by the way.

Um, well, no, it's not taupe and grey.  It's 8 pinks and purples, with one yellow toned cream (Foxy), one golden copper (Half Baked), one cool grey (Pistol), and a solid matte black (Blackout).

It's pretty, to be sure, but the pictures they show on their website don't show how pink this is.

I've seen the comparison between Naked and Naked2 as Naked is warm, while Naked2 is cool.  Well... I don't think so.  Naked is browns, and Naked2 is pink; but both are fairly neutral.  There are a few colors that tilt one way or the other, but overall, neutral.

The matte shades are very nice, although they seem like they are going to be chalky as you start to load your brush.  Once applied, they smooth out perfectly, and blend easily.  The shimmers create a nice sheen, and the glitter shades seem pretty subtle, especially for Urban Decay (who is known for "glitter bomb" eyeshadows).

The case is metal, and snaps closed.  I love the case!  It is very sturdy, and you can leave it loose in your makeup storage and not have to worry about it falling open and ruining the shadows.

To try out this palette, I wore it several times, and each time I tried a somewhat random combination.  I put the first six colors together, then the last six, then every other one starting with the first, and then every other one starting with the second.

For the first look, I used Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, and Snakebite.  (Oh, lordy, the names!)  One thing to remember when using this palette, is that it looks very different close up versus farther away.  In the close-ups, it looks like I have very little eyeshadow on.  In contrast, the full-face view seems much more dramatic.  The lighting is exactly the same for both.

For the next look, I used Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, and Blackout.  This look is darker, but still very soft up close.  I created a false wing by angling the corner up with a clean stop, rather than applying a dark color to create the wing.  I like doing this because it still gives a nice, somewhat sultry look, without going very dark.

Third, I tried every other color, starting with the first pan on the left.  Therefore, I used Foxy, Bootycall, Tease, Suspect, Verve, and Busted.

Finally, I tried using every other color, starting with the second from the left.  I used Half Baked, Chopper, Snake Bite, Pistol, YDK, and Blackout.  The pictures for this one are not here, because my experiment was unsuccessful in the application order I chose.  Had I used just three of those colors... and probably any three of them, I believe the results would have been better.

I still feel this experiment was a good one, because it shows both the versatility of the palette, and the likelihood that you will get a good result without needing much experience with blending colors. 

Overall, this palette is a great value for the money.  I like to wear pink eyeshadow, and it suits me, so I will get a lot of use out of it.  If you don't like pink, you will not like this palette, so in that case I would suggest you go with Naked over Naked 2.

Review! Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch

I received a sample with another purchase, from Sephora, of Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch.  Sephora says it is "a luminizing pen that brings light and radiance to the skin, immediately erases any signs of fatigue, and brightens the complexion".  Sephora also labels this as a concealer.

I say, bullpucky.


Here, on the left is Touche Eclat in No. 4.5 on the left, Maybeline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Beige in the center, and Touche Eclat in No. 2.0 on the right.

It's foundation in a clicky pen.  When swatched on my hand, it immediately creased and settled into the fine lines.

When it dried, it got worse.

Here it is worn, before:

And after:

There isn't much difference, and there certainly isn't much coverage.  The area that it caused any improvement is there at the outer lower part of my eye.  I think the rest of my dark circles scared it and it ran away.

I cannot figure out why they say this product brings light and radiance, because it is matte.  Completely matte.  There is no dewy, no shimmer, no shine.  Just... matte.

It isn't moisturizing, so I don't see how it can lift anything, either.

Overall, I'm so glad I didn't actually pay for this, or I'd have to make a trip to return it.  Don't bother.  I'd suggest going with Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer, because you'll get better coverage and a much cheaper price.

Review! Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion

I just want to start by saying that I hate it when cosmetics are given racy names.  If someone asks me what color of something I am wearing, I don't want to feel like an idiot or a hooker when I tell them.  So, had I not seen the color of this pencil (an extremely true, dark black), I would have never purchased it, based on the name alone.  Seriously, I wish cosmetics were just given descriptive names rather than something "cute" or "catchy" or whatever.  Just tell me "Absolute Black", and I'll be good.  Honestly.

Ok, so this is Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On eye Pencil in Perversion.    *sighs*  I hate the name.

This swatch ended up looking a bit odd, but I wanted to see how it handled corners.  Overall, it applied very smoothly and did not drag.  As most of the time you will be drawing a rather straight line, the swatch on the left is most important.  It applies very dark, and pure black.  There is no shine or glitter to this eyeliner.

I set the liner with Mosha Katani's Black Sea Kohl Eyeliner Pigment.  The liner stayed in place all day; which I expected.

It also stayed mostly on through a shower and face washing.  Almond oil took it right off.

I like how clean the line is, and how easy it is to apply.  A lot of drugstore pencils either have staying power, but are dry and drag the lid; or they are creamy but fade easily.    If you've never strayed from drugstore eyeliners, I do recommend trying this one.  One pencil is nearly $20, but in this case you do get what you pay for.

Here is a look I tried from another beauty blogger, Jen at From Head To Toe (here is the tutorial). 

I will re-purchase this eye pencil.

Review! SEPHORA COLLECTION Moonshadow Baked Palette - In The Dark

I really like the SEPHORA COLLECTION Moonshadow Baked Palettes, and this week I tried out In The Dark.

These shadows are very dry, as most baked shadows are.  Because of this, you will get a lot of fallout in the case.  They are intended to be used wet.

However, I don't recommend using them wet.  If you want the intense color, and keep it in place all day, you will need a special primer; Pixie Epoxy.  A very thin layer of Pixie Epoxy, over your regular primer, will hold all of the sparkle, and almost all of the color.  I'm going to go ahead and call this a necessity.  When using the Pixie Epoxy, these colors become extremely wearable for daytime looks, and the shimmer makes it transition to night-time without further application.  You can build up your layers, to the point where you nearly reach the "applied wet" intensity.

I found that when, used wet, they will start to flake off after a few hours of wear.

The packaging is hard plastic case, and on the entire inside of the lid is a mirror.  The case is difficult enough to open to assure you that it's not going to fly open in your makeup bag, but not so difficult that you'll have to wrestle with it.  The top has a black lace pattern screenprinted on it.

In The Dark hits a home run with its dark colors.  Although the base black is the same for Black Gold, Glitter Black, and Black Purple, the glitter and finishes are all different.  Black Gold is the most interesting, as it keeps the black background, and then has gold glitter in it, with a gold sheen over the top.  Glitter Purple does much the same thing, except with purple, and with not quite the dramatic effect. Glitter Black doesn't have a sheen to it, but they did load it up on glitter.

The real surprise is Deep Brown.  Applied wet or over Pixie Epoxy, it has a pink cast to it.  However, applied dry, it looses nearly all of the sparkle, and is a beautiful dried-leaf-brown.

Here is a look using Lavender, Nude, Deep Brown, Gold and White Gold.  Nude is beneath the outer half of the eyebrow, Gold is above the crease to the eyebrow and along the inner nose, Lavender is on the entire lid, and Deep Brown was smudged all around the lashline.  Because I applied Deep Brown over Lavender, it lost its sheen and most of the sparkle, as I intended for it to do.  Finally, I tapped a bit of White Gold at the tear ducts with my finger.

I love these Moonshadow Palettes for summer looks.  Using just an eyeshadow primer will leave you with a pretty sparkle that doesn't look overdone when outdoors, and only takes a minute to apply.