Beauty Blogazons Weekly Roundup 08/18/2013

• The Convenient Beauty: Shiseido and Cle de Peau cotton pads face-off: which one's superior even better priced than drugstore brands?
• Mama Fashionista: Quinn shares a beauty on a budget find, great for makeup beginners and pros alike!
• Adore A Polish: Kristina's husband takes over the blog with his review of the HYD For Men shaving kit.
• Glamorable!: Do you like flowers? What about nail art? If you answered "Yes" to both, you might love Anastasia's whimsical manicure featuring bright hand drawn carnations!
• Makeup by Kim Porter: Saving Face with Mario Badescu's Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs & Rosewater.
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Edition is a lovely sheer pink lipstick that sure to delight you!
• BellBelleBella: 752% more volume from a mascara? Check out Brittney's review of Tarte's Lights Camera Flashes mascara.
• TheFabZilla: TheFabZilla does a FOTD featuring Laura Geller makeup.
• Beautyfiends: Julia at Beautyfiends is failing at this nail art thing. Check out week 2 of The Pinterest Inspired Nail Art Challenge!
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura shows us the IT Cosmetics Limited Edition 6 Piece Vanity Brush Collection.
• ColorMeSoCrazy: Do you love indie polishes?? Check out this one from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer!
• Beauty by Miss L: Check out Miss L´s cool irregular French manicure.
• Daydreaming Beauty: Another multi-tasking gem from Ole Henriksen! Amber looks at Perfect Truth CC cream this week.
• The Passenger Element: Quick Tip featuring Epielle Facial Essence Masks at Big Lots!
• Beauty by Arielle: Arielle's 5 Must Have IT Cosmetics Products in Under 5.
• Geniabeme: Want an affordable bright eyeshadow palette? Check out Sleek!
• Midnight Manicures: Jeanie shares with you her swatches and review of the Zoya Cashmere Nail Polish Collection. Enter the giveaway to win the collection.
• Icy Nails: Icy Nails shares a review of the Ageless Derma Stem Cell and Peptide Anti Wrinkle Cream.
• Makeup, Life, Love: All Natural Fountain of Youth.

Lately

Life has been full of ups and downs. As I'm battling through the summer schedule and planning for the rest of the year, small little things have lightened up my days and eased my stress. These random happy beats, no matter how trivial, are the highlights lately.

I love everything green tea, ice cream is no exception.

Oh and finally, I found Chanel Affinite on Chanel.com and grabbed it within a blink of an eye before it disappeared again. Also, I managed to convince myself that I needed all the shades of Tom Ford blushes. After Frantic Pink came Wicked! While Wicked is another stellar product, Frantic Pink didn't meet the sky-high standards of the other Tom Ford blushes. Still it's a really good easy-to-use blush.

For all you big cosmetic fanatics, here is an elegant piece of lessons learned by Charleston Girl of Best Things in Beauty. After years shopping online and offline, I have learned them the hard way. One of my grown-up moments is to stop myself from back-ups and seasonal releases. I also really enjoy reading the comments.

This letter of a mother to her 2-year-old daughter after watching Bachelor. May I also put a capital X on Ready for Love? A stupid dating show under the formate of a talent reality competition. You sure do have professional match makers who help you to win the heart of your Prince Charming. Yes, coaches for hair, makeup, lies, tricks, etc.. I feel pathetic for both the guys and their potential soul mates. Of course, it didn't last 2 episodes. Phew!

On a more positive note, my new favorite show is Naked and Afraid on Discovery Channel. I wouldn't last 15 minutes naked, starved, tired and afraid in exotic remote land. Especially no sun screen and bug spray!

How is your summer going? Feel free to chip in your favorite random things lately. xo

Review: Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Stretch and Original Mascara Versus L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Stretch mascara is one of my all time favorites. I love the brush and the dry formula that holds the curl and lengthens my lashes. When I heard about L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition sharing similar brush with Eyes to Kill Volume mascara, I jumped to test it out. If L'Oreal Full Definition volumizes my lashes, I can skip that the pricey Giorgio Armani mascaras and get some volume for my lashes. Ultimately, they're owned by the same company L'Oreal right?

Let's take a look at the brushes.

From this angle, all three look really similar, even the bristles are spaced the same. 

The formula of all three are rather similar but L'Oreal Full Definition is the wettest and Giorgio Armani Stretch is the driest. 

Giorgio Armani Stretch and L'Oreal Full Definition both lengthen my lashes while Giorgio Armani Orignial adds definition to my lashes but nothing else. The first two stay put throughout the day without flakes or smudging while Giorgio Armani Orignial falls out at mid-day. 

All three mascaras hold curls really well but the most effective must be Giorgio Armani Stretch. 

L'Oreal adds no volume as promise. Also, it feels tired at the end of the day. 

Now, let take a look at the brushes one more time. 

I turned the wands 90 degree to show you the slander shape of Armani Stretch. Armani Stretch is 1/2 full around. Armani Original is 3/4 full around. L'Oreal Full Definition is full all around. 

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascaras are priced at $30 while L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition mascara is around $7.99. I got mine from Kroger for $5! 

I prefer Giorgio Armani's but L'Oreal is an excellent double. Plus the price is so much friendlier. Have you tried these sisters? Which one is the winner?

Review: Shiseido Facial Cottons Versus Cle de Peau Beaute Le Cotton

How many packs of drugstore cotton pads you ran through per year? I usually do three 80 counts from CVS, Target or HEB. But I don't like them. Harsh and feathery, they aren't sturdy nor gentle enough for my eye areas. So when I received a couple of deluxe samples of Cle de Peau cotton pads, I was over the moon. They're so soft and gentle for my skin. However, they still fail to convince me to splurge. The price just doesn't feel right. Since I've always heard great things about Shiseido cotton pads, I gave it a try and really really love them. I found it very similar to Cle de Peau, even better function-wise and price-wise. My warmest thank you to Gummy of GummyVision and Joyce of Bronzerbunny for introducing Shiseido facial cottons!! 

Thickness

Today, I bring you the face off of Cle de Peau and Shiseido cotton pads.

Packaging. Cle de Peau comes in a chic paper box while Shiseido is housed in plasic bag.

Size. Shiseido pads are smaller in size. Also, CdP has a fancy logo on both sides of the pads. Me, I don't care for it. 

Softness. About the same yet Cle de Peau is a bit more airy while Shiseido is a bit denser. When swipe them on my face, I don't feel the difference even though I know CdP is fluffier. 

Functions. I found them both gentle and excellent for removing makeup. If you want to use it as cotton mask. Shiseido is less feathery and therefore more sturdy when soaked in toner. I also find the feather of CdP pads easy get into my eyes once I tear them in halves to thin them down. 

Price point. Shiseido is more affordable, $9.5 for 165 counts (6 cents/pad) versus CdP $20 for 120 counts (17 cents/pad) or nearly triple the price per pad of Shiseido. It's not either three times large or three times better than Shiseido.  

Tearing the pads in halves. Cle de Peau is more feathery

Shiseido is even more affordable compared to my drugstore pads. It's $9.5 for 165 counts (double to 330 when torn in halves to thin the pads down) versus $3 for 80 counts of HEB pads that untearable to double the use. I usually use 1 pad of Shiseido (as I tear it into 2 halves) or 2 pads of HEB per makeup removal. So in order to have 165 make removals like 1 pack of Shiseido, I need 4 packs of HEB or $12.

For me it's clear Shiseido is the winner. How about you?

Look: Professional Smiley Makeup

The motivation was very simple. I need a new professional smiley picture for my profile. My goal is to give an impression of happy, positive and confident attitude. So I opted for neutral makeup with a pop of subtle blue red lipstick. It helps brighten the teeth! Now all I need is a good photographer. But in the mean time, here's what I envision the makeup should turn out. Enjoy! As usual, full makeup list is at the end of the post. 

Face

Burberry Luminous Foundation Trench 6 (review of Trench 5)

Edward Bess Compact Rouge Love Affair 

Edward Bess All Over Seduction Sunlight

Tom Ford Cheek Color Flush

Dior Healthy Glow Powder in Aurora

Eyes

Nars Pro Prime Eyeshadow Primer

Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad Cocoa Mirage

Sephora 12 hour wear eyepencil #14 Cocoa

Dior Extase mascara

Lips

Chanel Rouge Allure Byzantine (Fall 2011 Limited Edition)