Tarina Tarantino Dollskin Cheek

I must admit I have been intimidated for a very long time of TARINA TARANTINO. Just look at that name. I never bothered to pick up or look up any TT products because it's scary to read things in all caps. I thought TT was for tough girls. Notice I don't like spelling it out, it just looks mean. In fact I used to not even read the whole name because I saw the alliteration and the long second word and instantly decided it was a foreign language and I didn't want to irritate myself with words I don't know the meaning of, especially when they're yelling at you. It's silly, but I probably would have been interested in TT a long time ago if it weren't for the ALL CAPS TAELKJ TAKADLEKOOI. Intimidating, no? Then one day I chanced the irritation of actually reading it and saw, for the first time, that it actually wasn't an obnoxious word to pronounce. No, just  Tarantino. What a relief.

As I was combing through Sephora's clearance online as I so regularly do I came across some TT blush for $15. Initially I thought it was probably a small size but to get an idea of the size I compared it to NARS and saw that it actually has a teensy bit more than their blush (note: it's okay for NARS to be in all caps because it's short, like a small dog yap. TARINA TARANTINO is long, like a howler (Harry Potter, get nerdy)).

To avoid the shipping charges I just popped into my local Sephora to pick one up. I found the blushes, there were 4 or 5 colors which was fantastic because otherwise I would have taken all day and my husband (who prefers to wait outside Sephora most of the time because he hates it like I hate football) would have wanted to kill me; or worse, not let me buy one.

One of the colors, Parasol, looks very similar to NARS' O.  Yes, O.  I'm sorry, it's just I think my little sister reads this so I don't want to spell it out. If you're a makeup person, you definitely know what color I'm talking about because it's probably about as famous as Luna Lovegood to HP fans (so not the most MOST famous thing, but everyone's at least heard of it). Suffice it to say it's a beautiful coral color with gold flecks in it that looks good on almost any skin. The difference with TT's Parasol is that it doesn't have gold flecks, just a matte coral flush. It's beautiful though and if you're thinking of buying O just save half your money and buy TT Parasol (unless you have your heart set on sparkles). I would have chosen Parasol today except I already own O.  Instead I chose Feather, a milder coral/rose color. Another thing, I like the texture of TT blush more than NARS blush and that's a big deal because NARS... is a big deal. I would venture to say that TT blush is milled a little finer. Smaller particles, yes.

If it looks like I took these pictures with a phone and not a Canon Rebel, it's because I did. Because I don't own a Canon Rebel.

Designed at the Sparkle Factory in Downtown LA? So right between Narnia and Snow White's castle?

One layer

Two layers! Buildable!!

Yay! I love my new blush and I'm glad I finally tried TARINA TARANTINO!

Push The Button/ Glycolic Acid

Even though my contest isn't working and you guys fully suck, I'm going to keep blogging. You will probably keep reading and not push the harmless blue button found at the right hand side of this screen. You see, I know you're reading. Not a lot of you, but over 50 a day. The cool thing about Blogger's newer format is the statistics tab that tells me my trends in readership. Someday, in like a couple years at this rate, I want to have enough readership to get sponsorship. You see, when makeup and skincare companies see that you have infinity followers they have no problem sending you a free thing or two to review on your blog. It's this innovative new thing called "cheap advertising." They are also sometimes open to sending their product to you for giveaways. As in, giving products away to readers. But I won't give anything to closet readers so you better push the button. Thank you Megan, Amie, and random person for pushing the button.

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One of my favorite skincare ingredients is Glycolic Acid.  Glycolic Acid is derived from sugarcane and, molecularly, is the smallest alpha-hydroxy acid. Because it's the smallest it penetrates deeper into your skin than any other acid can. It helps with aging and hyperpigmentation (everyone is aging...everyone. Always).

When you think acid, you probably get creepy thoughts of some obscure substance on the top shelf of an unknown shed tipping over and burning your face off, forever blinding you and robbing you of your beauty.  It should be self-explanatory that nobody would be allowed to formulate products with drain-o or something, but people seem to be too afraid of the prospect to really think it over. You're not going to find life-threatening acids in a professional cleanser.  So calm down.

Think of your favorite scrub (and if it's an apricot scrub, throw it out as soon as you're done reading this).  Is your scrub scary and sinister? Is your scrub going to eat your face off and blind you while its at it? No. Your scrub is a mechanical exfoliant. Glycolic Acid is a chemical exfoliant. It does the same thing (except a little better in most cases).

My favorite cleanser (so far) with Glycolic Acid is by Image. It's the Ageless Total Facial Cleanser, and it's a better friend to me than all of my school friends who haven't pushed the "join this site" button yet. The cleanser has less than 15% acid in it, but believe me... its enough. You might expect a warm sensation when using it but I would actually describe it as very cold. My skin is pretty sensitive but I've heard many reviews from first-time Image users and its been described as almost uncomfortable for a lot of people the first few times using it. You're supposed to lather it in for at least 60 seconds, how many of you actually do that with your cleansers? Try it ONCE, it makes a happy difference.

Before using this cleanser I had some pretty heavy acne scaring, and the occasional acne freak-out flare-up. Granted, I've still got some ground to cover but my skin is healthier than its ever been after four or so months of using this AND I rarely have more than a few pustules (whiteheads) at a time (partially because I kill them at first sight) and I have almost no papules (the ones that don't come out as happily) at any given time. Plus my skin is generally much, much less inflamed which is nice because I already have enough of a pink tint to have irritation on top of that. That's a big deal my friends. I'm very acne prone and this cleanser keeps it under control. 

P.S. friends don't let friends use Proactiv, because it's overpriced (for a Benzoyl Peroxide product) and instructed to be overused in a way that will strip your skin and mess it up further. No skin care professional would have you use a Benzoyl Peroxide product morning and night FOR 3 TO 6 MONTHS WITH NO RESTING REGIMEN. Except Rodan and Fields, of course... because, you know, money is money. Do yourself a favor and get a reasonably priced product with Benzoyl Peroxide (or maybe Salicylic Acid) AND an inactive counterpart and switch off. It's much better for your skin. Unless you think it sounds like a blast to strip your skin; making it tight, itchy, inflamed, irritated, red, angry, and generally hating you. In that case Proactiv and their recommended regimen is right for you.

The Best Primer of All Time/ Parabens & Preservatives

...and it's not even a primer...technically.

Philosophy The Present Clear Makeup. $28/2 oz.

This product is formulated and intended to be a "skin perfecter" which gives it qualities that go above and beyond your everyday primer. It has silicone in it which sounds threatening if you don't know your ingredients, but silicone does amazing things for the skin like:

-improves texture

-helps with dry and flaky skin. So if you're sick of putting on your powder foundation just to look like a gross peeling/chafing/molting monster, try this underneath.

-acts lightly as an occlusive (keeps moisture in, keeps crap out...like a skin shield)

        "But don't silicones suffocate the skin?" Ha! No. You have been misinformed my friends. Silicone products may feel heavy going on but the heaviness evaporates and leaves a smooth and breathable surface, "filling in" your imperfections. But it doesn't actually penetrate into your pores at all, it creates a sort of protective sheath and a perfect canvas for your foundation- liquid or powder. If you're not a makeup person you could wear this product alone and still see an improvement in the texture and tone of your skin. 

Is it paraben free? No, and you're probably thinking like a dumb bucket. If a product doesn't have parabens it almost certainly has another kind of preservative that is just as likely to give you cancer if your water bottles or hairspray doesn't first. So stop wasting your time with caring or abandon all products with preservatives (yeah, have fun with that). How often do you see products that say, "paraben free"... and how often do you see products that say, "preservative free"?  Not as often, but they're out there. Next time you read, "paraben free", revise it in your head to, "I want to take advantage of the fact that you haven't done your research." I'm all for preservative free products, oh yes, but I'm not all for the price tags that they frequently come with.