Lately

My husband's love of golf must have had certain effect. I was surprised the other day when my friends ask me the hottest players at the Shell Houston Open this year. I can name good 20 dudes who are currently under the radar!!! For those of you who don't follow the sport, Shell Houston Open is an annual professional golf tournament. We earned some free tickets as my husband volunteered for the event. While the hubs was marshaling the spectators near the green, I spent much of last Saturday beside him sunbathing and cheering his favorite golfers. Well, I do like Louis Oostheizen for his effortless powerful swing and calm manner. I also like Keegan Bradley. He's such a cute kid. Still, watching a bunch of guys hitting tiny white balls never sounds appealing idea to me. So I piled on sunscreen, put on sunglases, and scrutinized the makeup and outfits of some particularly well-dressed audience. Got some really good ideas from them!

Back to my recent love. I've been really enjoying the Real Technique brushes. Affordable, decent quality and great result. 

As usual, Sephora Birthday Gift this year is a sweet little treat. The retailer has been upgrading the gift recently. I remember about 5 years ago, it was just Sephora lipgloss duo. I didn't even use them. This year, I received deluxe sample of They're real mascara and What's up highlighter which has the same amount of product as Edward Bess full size highlighter. Not bad right? Both have good quality, too

After much pondering and testing of Tom Ford fragrance, I settle down for Santal Blush and Black Violet (I think :D). However, I must admit that I prefer those little sample than the full size bottles. I can't really choose which to get from Tom Ford. With only few exceptions, I love all the scents I've sniffed.

Hope you're doing fabulous! Any plans for April? 

Lately

It's been ages since my last Lately post. Basically, the series help me to stay on track with both my blog and now my non-blog life. It's also a way to share with you my inspiration in life, small or big.

So lately,

Our unused mileages from several airlines got turned into a full year of magazine subscription. I think we have a dozen. Ambitious I know. Not sure what made me think I could handle that much offline reading as I glue my eyes on the computers infinitely. I can't. Still love to do that though, whatever the hubs says.

I've been adjusting my skin care routine in the past few months successfully. My skin texture has been way smoother and more even. Acne scars, dull looking skin, dry patches and pigmentation are reduced. My skin is the best since the beginning of my adulthood. I can't wait to share my thoughts on some of the products and how I use them :)

The Blake Shelton concert at Livestock Show and Rodeo Houston. Love this dude on The Voice. Listening to him live is a dream come true.

I am still a control freak.

How are you doing? High-fives if you're also a captain control freak in the household!! 

Lately

Guys, I'm still alive. If you follow me on twitter, oh well, you probably don't assume that anyway. I don't have much time for my blog lately. And when the swatches don't do the justice or the product isn't tested thoroughly yet, I don't feel comfortable sharing my thoughts. It's just who I am. So here is a glimpse of what's coming up on The Convenient Beauty.

I have collected samples of several new foundations launched this fall. So far I've tried new Dior Skin Nude, YSL Touche Eclat foundation, Giorgio Armani Maestro. That new Burberry long-wearing foundation is still out of my reach :(. But I'm unsure if I'm interested in a full-coverage foundation for the winter. Beside those, I'm also trying out Tom Ford Traceless Foundation - the liquid formula; Bourjois Healthy Mix and Healthy Mix serum; and Givenchy Airy-Light Mat Radiant (the name suggests conflicting traits ?!?). So I'm planning on an updated and thorough version of my foundation comparison now that I understand much more about my skin and foundations.

In the past months, I also did some mini-adventures with Bourjois, actually a re-discovery of the brand, and Dolce & Gabbana. The latest obsession is Tom Ford Beauty. Since his line is heftily priced, I'll have to carefully test a few popular products before jumping into the next. The girls at my local Tom Ford counter already warned me that they would see me back there in the matter of days, though. They thought I'd love the brand so much. We'll see.

Oh, and there will be a giveaway for The Convenient Beauty's readers. I really appreciate your readership and have so much fun sharing my hobbies with you guys. Hopefully the prize will glam you up for the up-coming holidays ;;)

And, I will host a blog sale. Many items in my stash barely got used. You know how it's like when you're a makeup junkie ;). So I hope they'll find new owners who'll hit the pan or the bottom of the tubes/bottles.

That's all for now. On a random note, here is a picture of Zen Mobile. It puzzles me what they sell in there. You do zen while browsing the store or you must be zen mode to use their mobile phones? I mean how zen and mobility can happen at the same time? FYI, The store is located at the corner of Beechnut and Beltway 8 in Houston.

Lately

I literally stayed away from beauty blog through out the months of April and May. My life has been hectic like hell and I lost my inspiration to blog. But all the beauty purchases I made since January were all huge success. I love every single one of them. So I decided to share a brief overview of these goodies and will do a more in-depth description later on.

First and foremost, I finally found THE foundation that I desperately wanted for years ever since my love affair with makeup began. Yes, nearly 10 years. Clarins Ever Matte Skin Balancing Foundation. Smooth with extra finely milled texture. Matte without being dull. Stay on all day (no setting powder needed). Natural like second skin. Doesn't turn orange half day through. Weightless. Cover well and buildable. I found my right shade. Affordable. Smell refreshing. Smart packaging that works well for traveling. I don't think it's the perfect match for everybody but it should work well on loads of skintone and type. I can no longer come back to my Chanel Matte Lumiere or Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk. Totally in love!

Other awesome discoveries were Dior 5-color eyeshadow quint in Beige Massai and Chanel 4-color quint in Kaska Beige. Both are universally flattering neutrals with beautiful pop of colors. Beige Massai, in particular, has everything I love about the best of Dior 5-color quints. And Chanel Kaska Beige is simply a-must. Hands down. Sadly, Dior Beige Massai was discontinued (yes, I checked with Dior). So I had to raid ebay's beauty department and grabbed two (of course).

I've also been using Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Espresso Ink non-stop since March. YSL Touch Eclat is my new under eye concealer. Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Love Affair (seriously, every girl needs this) is my every day blush and will be until the fall comes.

Some other happy procurements include
YSL Rouge Couture in 27
Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Gloss in Beach
Makeup Forever HD Blush in No. 6
L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe
Maybeline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe
Clinique Black Honey
Becca Shimmer Skin Perfectors in Pearl and Opal, both of which aren't new to my collection but I waited until I got a good use of them to write reviews.

I'm very excited to continue to share and learn more about makeup. I hope you are doing well.

Joanne