Mini update!

Greetings Beauties!

I know....it's been a bit since I posted last...and I am woefully behind!

I've gotten several new things that I want to share but so far I have not had the time to take pics and update like I want to...which sucks, but hey, life happens, right?

I just ordered some lippies from Dose of Colors and am excited to give those a try - I hope I am not disappointed...I am constantly in search of the perfect nude color - it can't be too peachy because that makes my teeth look gross - which they aren't but you know how it is. Cooler colors tend to be better for me - plus they have that slightly edgy look I love!

Does anyone remember the color Folio from MAC? I loved that color! Sadly it's been discontinued for a really long time but I still have some kicking around here somewhere! Not that I would use it probably - it's probably funky as all get out! And perhaps just a little TOO edgy for me now. Still...

I really like the color Charmed matte lippie from LA Splash, but the formula has a bit to be desired although truthfully I don't have a lot of experience with the liquid matte lipsticks that are so popular now. It smells a bit like paint, which is probably basically what it is. but I do like the color! And OG Goulish is cool too, but a bit gray to be practical for everyday.

Also, after hearing about it various videos on YT, I bought some Zote soap to clean my brushes/sponges and for my laundry too! ha! I will let you know if it is as good as they say...but I am hopeful! Apparently you can get it at Walmart but I hate walmart in general and so I just ordered it off Amazon. sigh.

So...not to worry! I will be back soon! I promise!

In the mail yesterday...

Yesterday I received my order from Sephora. While I have shopped in the store many times I had never placed an online order. I wanted a couple of things and just wasn't finding the time to go to the store...gotta love the internet! Anyway, I ordered the new Jaclyn Hill highlighter in Champagne Pop from Becca cosmetics and the highlighter from TooFaced in 'Candlelight'. I also ordered this neat little collection of eyeliners - one of those special things they put together - it has a Kat vonD, two Stilla, an Urban Decay, and....one or two others that I can't recall right off the top of my head...But I will come back and show you swatches and details soon!

I was tired of hearing about the JH highlighter and not knowing what all the fuss was about so...there ya go. I am a marketers dream... ha!

First impression is that it's very pretty but definitely not one that messes around! It's definitely got a strong, strobing impact... I might be a TAD too old (ahem) to get away with much of this...but hey, I'm gonna rock it if I can! Candlelight is also very pretty and has a cooler tone to it...I think perhaps it will be more wearable in some ways. Again, swatches soon!

New Makeup Geek Shadows!

OMG you guys I am so excited to have ordered the new duo-chrome eyeshadows from Makeup Geek. I have never ordered from them before (I know, I am proably the only MUA that HASN'T ordered from them) but I just had to get these....I don't know how often I will actually wear them but hey...SO EXCITED and I will for sure let you know when I get them! Woot!

I also got a few new things at TJ Maxx earlier - I don't have pics yet -so consider this a bit of a tease..but SOON! I promise! I have so manythings I want to put here and I am just so short on time and damn if I wasn't so tired all the time I might get more done!

Catching up a little - new foundations to try etc.

Hello darlings!

Yes, as per usual, I am behind on all of things I want to talk about here...but hey - no time like the present, right?

I picked up a few things this last week that I wanted to share with you.

Two new foundations to try:

I have not really had a chance to play AND take pictures of either of these yet. But I have some initial thoughts. The L'Oreal Lift/Blur foundation seems really nice - I MAY have picked up the wrong color...especially as we head into fall and winter...but overall it seems nice. I recently purchased the concealer and I LOVE it. The PF foundation seems like quite a thin and sheer formula and supposedly it's illuminating...which can be good or bad...I am not one for glitter in my foundation. Just in my little test on the side of my face, I couldn't really SEE any big chunks of glitter, so I have some hope. But for coverage, I don't think either one is going to be my holy grail product.

I am also trying to go back and use some other foundations that I have bought over the past few months - to try to figure out if I just don't like them or what...I did a lot of buying and so I think maybe I just just got a little overwhelmed by the choices. I did re-try one of the Rimmel foundations I bought a few months ago: Lasting Finish 25H Foundation With Comfort Serum. Do not like it as it seemed like it was...GRAY or something...not sure if that's some kind of funky oxidation on my skin or what...but I think I will be passing that one on...or trying it again in the cooler months...

A new BH Smokey palette I got at Ross for just $6.99! One shadow was broken - and thus, the palette LOOKED like a mess, but really once I dumped out the broken one and cleaned it up a bit it looks nice! I have not had much chance to play with this yet, but the few little swatches I did on my hand seemed really nice!

Also, I made an order with shopmissa.com and I am overall pleased with what I received - and let me tell you I got it fast! There were a few fails in my box of goodies and somehow they sent me three of the same blush - but I think that was my fault for only looking at the pictures of the colors and not actually selecting the right color...I'll try not to make that mistake again! I will likely pass the two extras along to friends.

I find that the color representation on my screen vs. what I actually get is...a little off... hence the garish hot pink lipstick I got...NO. Just...NO. And yets this is a filtered pic because I could just not bring myself to post the original...but I still hate it.

I bought a TON of lashes from them and they look great and at only $1...well you can hardly go wrong! I bought some Kara lashes and also some Kleancolor lashes. Will let you know when I wear them what I think and of course post some pics.

I also picked up this eyeliner at DollarTree: ColorMates liquid eyeliner in black. I can tell you that primer helps this to not bleed and also that it seems quite smear-proof, although I have not put it to the full day test yet.  But at only $1, if it doesn't completely suck then...YAY!

Ok lovelies! That's about it from here! Enjoy your Sunday! Oh and like and share and whatever all that other stuff is! LOL

New Eyeshadow Palette! The Morphe 35T

I confess to being obsessed with eyeshadow palletes.  I have cheap ones, expensive ones, and everything in between! There is something about having a whole array of colors at my fingertips that just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

OK - maybe not warm and fuzzy.

But you get the idea.

I just got a couple of new palettes from Morphe Brushes. I ordered through Amazon because I wanted them NOW and the Morphe website was out of stock. I ended up paying more but you know...I am obsessed!

This is the 35T palette - the T stands for taupe I think... the colors are really nice and have lots of color to them. They seem to blend great and are soft and creamy feeling. I do wish there was one or two lighter transition colors in the palette - if only because then I wouldn't have to reach for another palette for a transition color or brow bone highlight.

This is a pretty nice combo of matte shadows and shimmers as well, which is always good - especially if too much shimmer makes you run for the hills! But I think that if you want to wear shimmer, then you should! I just read in a popular fashion mag that you should stop wearing shimmer after 40. WHAT???? what a load of crap!  Know what works for you, what you feel good in, what makes you confident. If that means every millimeter of your eyelid is covered in shimmer, then rock it!  If matte is your thing - then rock that too! Isn't life hard enough and short enough already without some 'someone' out there, some vague 'They', telling us to wear this and not that???

Watch for a post on my other palette from Morphe as well as the newest Naked smoky palette from Urban Decay. 

In fact - maybe I will do a post with all of my palettes! That would be fun - but a really LONG post.

As always, please share my blog with others if you like it! And comment - I love comments!

New lashes!

Greetings ladies (and gents too, if there are any out there reading!)!!

I am sorry that I haven't posted in a day or two - been fighting a cold or whatever. Yuck!

I wanted to update you on a few new things I got in the mail the other day.

First up are some lashes that I got from Oh My Lash. I ordered several pairs just to see what they were like. They got here super fast. As for the lashes themselves...I'm still in the testing/trying on phase. But, being relatively new to lashes in general I will say that I think I am not a big fan of super curled lashes. And the ones I tried on yesterday were pretty shiny. And I don't think I like that look. So this will be something to keep in mind when I shop in the future at other places. Speaking of shopping for lashes, I find myself wishing that stores carried more brands and styles. It's hard to tell what you are buying online. But there are quite a few good videos on YouTube regarding other beauty bloggers favorites. I highly recommend that you check them out!

I ordered the styles Paige, Sophia, AuNaturelle, and Olivia (which is a set of 5 different lashes). I have only tried on the Paige lashes so far.

I also ordered these super cheap lashes from Amazon:

My first impression is...that they are indeed cheap! Which is not necessarily a bad thing. You get 10 pairs of 7 styles which is quite a deal for about $15.I find myself liking the ones with clear bands more that the black bands.   I haven't tired any on yet but I am pretty sure that the ones that look extra thick/dark are not going to be favorites. Will post pics when I try them on!

Regarding glue: I had on hand some Revlon glue. I have been liking that. It's latex free which I appreciate even though I don't have an allergy to latex. I have bought some Duo glue and some Andrea glue but have not tried them yet. I do know that the Revlon glue is rather hard to find. Not sure why though.

I am also considering ordering from Lady Moss. I don't really need more lashes but because I am in the process of learning I feel the need to experiment.

A few pictures of me...

So, before I put the pictures in I wanted to say a little something about photo editing. I am not good at it.  A few of these pictures were edited using the app FaceTune...which is pretty cool in that it lets you blur backgrounds and that sort of thing. It also lets you edit your features...and I do that sometimes - it would be a lie and somewhat disingenuous to not tell you that I do that. BUT I will always try to TELL you when I have done so. Sometimes it's nice to be able to blur those forehead wrinkles and stuff, you know? 
But I try not to take it too far... and really, once you get to know me, you'll be able to tell which ones are edited and which ones aren't...

Generally I DO edit things a bit. they are, after all, MY photos. right? Right! I tend to use a filter as well - just one of the built in ones on my iTouch. Mostly because it helps cancel out some of the redness I have...

Oh and you will also notice that I usually take pics at a certain angle...because I can't for the life of me seem to take a picture of the other side of my face without it looking...distorted or something... does anyone else have that trouble?

I liked my lashes on this day...

The two above are mostly to show the lashes I was wearing...Like I said in a previous post...lashes are new to me and I am obsessed!

Liked my coppery eyeshadow in this one...

HIGHLY edited pic - as you can tell by the fancy border and stuff...plus I think I did some stuff to the lighting... but I thought it was quite dramatic!

Edited a bit for chest redness and I think forehead lines...But mostly I like this one because it show that you CAN wear highlighter after 40!

This is a favorite picture...mostly because I loved the way my eye makeup turned out. Slightly edited - and should have been MORE edited to get rid of the crap you can see in the background...ha!

 the above picture is not edited - you can tell by the redness of my chest area - which is something I generally edit out....and wish that I could edit it right out of my life!  They say your face and neck should match to avoid a mask look, and often they will test a foundation on your neck - which NEVER works for me because I am so red. I blend into my neck but so far have not gotten into putting foundation on my chest...

A little about me and my current skin care routine

Greetings!

I just wanted to pop in and tell you a little about myself.

I'm 46. Married. One cat. Those are the basics.

As for my skin...well, that's more complicated in a way. I still have the occasional breakout (thanks hormones!) but generally speaking, my skin is pretty normal or combination during the times that it's ticked off at me.

I seldom stray from my cleansing routine. I find that a lot of experimentation does NOT make my skin happy. So, although I occasionally make a foray into the vast forest of skin care products, I find that if I do what I always do, my skin is pretty happy. I have recently added a retinol to my regime, which I put on at night before my moisturizer. Other than that, I stick with the same stuff, day in and day out. These products include:

• Neutrogena Rapid Clear Oil Control Foaming Cleanser - about $7
• Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser - about $25 depending on the size you get
• I use a Clarisonic Mia once a day (about $150)
• Olay Active hydration moisturizer - about $8
• RoC Deep Wrinkle Serum - about $24
• Ponds Evening Soothe Facial Wipes- about $6 for 30 
• Simple Micellar Cleaning Water - about $6

I wash twice a day, morning and night. On days I work out, I tend to just give my face a swipe with a wet washcloth and/or use the Simple Micellar Water on a cotton pad. I put my Olay on too. I leave the heavy duty cleansing until I get back from my workout.

In the morning I use my Neutrogena cleanser in the shower with my Clarisonic. Followed up with Olay.

At night, if I have a full face of makeup on, I use the Ponds wipes to take off at least some of my makeup. If I have worn false eyelashes (a new obsession of mine!) I use a little coconut oil to soften the glue. After that I use the Philosophy cleanser on a washcloth to take off the bulk of my makeup. I follow that up with a second cleansingusing the Neutrogena cleanser. Washing twice seems excessive maybe, but it seems to work for me at this point in my life. I follow that with the RoC serum and finally more Olay. I have tried lots of moisturizers and it seems like this is the only one that isn't too heavy and doesn't break me out. I will say that if I have dry patches or my neck is irritated (which happens a lot in the winter) I use some First Aid Beauty cream. It's good stuff, but pretty heavy duty. Thankfully it's not sticky.

If I haven't worn makeup, I skip the wipes and sometimes the second cleansing. 

Whew! When I write it all out it seems complicated but I guess I have been doing it long enough that it all goes quickly and easily. 

Welcome to Pavonine Beauty!

Greetings everyone! I have thought long and hard about whether or not to start a beauty blog or not...

Does the world really need another beauty blogger? Probably not. BUT I have noticed that there doesn't seem to be many blogs directed at those of us who are 40+.  So, that's my goal: to offer ideas and inspiration and reviews and thoughts from the perspective of someone who falls into that category of a woman who has lived a bit, but still likes to play and have fun with her makeup.

I guess I am not all THAT intersted in creating a blog that just talks about anti-aging products and that sort of thing - IMO we talk to much about that stuff. Maybe we can somehow get to a place where we are accepting of our changing skin and beauty routines without giving in entirely...or worse, falling into the trap of some kind of ageism...like all of those snide comments you read or stupid commercials they make that poke fun at your Grandmother...I don't know about you, but I loved my Grandma and I love my Mom and it annoys me to no end how we are constantly reminded how we shouldn't dress/decorate/makeup like our Grandmother.  As if it were the worst thing in the world to be like your Grandma...

Anyway...just a personal soapbox there...

So, without further ado...Let's get on with the makeup!

If there is anything you'd like to know about or even potentially see me review...just let me know... I'm not sponsored or any of that - so everything you see here will be stuff I have purchased myself. And if ever it's not, I will be sure to let you know. But my goal is to give you honest feedback and opinions.