Totally Non-Running Post: Book and Beauty Product Reviews

1. 
   
   Just Checking scenes from the life of an obsessive compulsive by Emily Colas is the book I just finished. It is a series of vignettes that skip around in time, rather than a chronological story organized in chapters. It is pretty interesting, and funny and sad. The author tells of her life with OCD, and how she is constantly preoccupied with worry: will she get a disesase because she passed someone on the street who had a cold sore, is someone putting dirty needles in her food at restaurants, what is that brown liquid on the table in a coffee shop...is it blood? maybe I have HIV now. While I do not have OCD, I have been known to find myself worrying about things that seem almost as outlandish (I once went to the emergency room because I thought I had a blood clot in my leg, and was going on a long trip the next day and was convinced that it would travel to my lungs and kill me....turns out it was a deep bruise from a alcohol-fueled canoeing accident a few weeks earlier) Even thought I should be more sympathetic, I found myself irritated at the author for her irrational fears, so I cannot imagine how her husband felt (it does go into their relationship quite a bit as well). It's a short book, and another interesting read. I think I've had my fill of psychological books for awhile after the Beautiful Boy, Tweak and Just Checking.




2. Nars blush in Orgasm is a cult favorite makeup product, aka it has a huge following and everyone seems to love it. I thought about buying it a year or so ago but decided to wait. The other day I was out running some errands and decided to pick one up and see for myself what all the fuss is about. To me, as long as it is in some socially acceptable shade, blush is blush. It keeps you from looking dead, and brightens up your face a bit. So...what do I think of Orgasm? I like it! I like it a lot! Is it fantastically better than every other drugstore brand blush out there in a similar shade? Most likely not. But it is a great color, and I can see how it would be flattering on most people. It is a peachy-pink with a hint of goldish shimmer that would go well with most lipstick and eyeshadow colors. It will give you the perfect hint of allover face color if you lightly sweep it over the face with a big brush, or you can wear it in the more traditional blush on the apples of the cheeks way. Bottom line: I'm a fan, but if it was discontinued tomorrow I wouldn't stress that I'd never be able to replace it.





3. Covergirl Outlast Lipstain, I tried the shade 3rd from the left, Bit of Blossom. This is my first experience with lipstains, and I must say I am a big fan. This product does what I have always wanted long-wearing lipsticks to do. It gives your lips color for hours, but does not have that painted-on, cracking/peeling/drying feeling of all the other longwear lipsticks I've tried. While it is not the most moisturizing lip product out there, you don't feel like you have to constantly apply gloss over it either. I have had it on for 4 hours now, and it has been through a grande nonfat latte and is still there. It starts out pretty bright, but fades to a pretty my-lips-are-just-naturally-this-color shade of pink. It goes on with a tip that looks like a big felt tip pen so you can get precise application. I highly recommend this one!




4. Max Factor Vivid Impact lipcolor, I have it in Pin-up Pink #04, shown above. I love it! It has a nice creamy feel to it that reminds me of my MAC lipstick. It definitely feels more high-end than something you would pick up at WalMart, which is exactly where I got mine. I love that you can see the color through the bottom of the tube so you can get a better idea of the true color than looking at a swatch on the display case. I bought the liner to go with it, and it has a brush on one end and liner on the other. I have never really seen the point in applying lipstick with a brush, but if that's your thing then you might like it. This shade is a great matte pink, but all the colors look really nice and they are supposedly hyperpigmented to give a rich, lasting color. I say these will find many fans.



5. 
   Love's True Bluish Light (LTBL) by Ava Luxe is a gorgeous perfume at a wonderful price. Ava Luxe is an indie brand, with one perfumer making a huge number of different scents. She has something for everyone: incensey smells, citrus, fruity, dark and smoky, light and ethereal. These fragrances are special, they don't smell like every other department store fragance out there marketed by celebs who probably have no idea what the perfume they are selling even smells like (not to say that I don't love some Briney Spears Fantasy, because I do!). These are handmade, and are really a form of art in some ways. LTBL is sweet and soft, the America's sweetheart of perfume-- it would be almost impossible to hate. It doesn't smell "perfumey" but is more of a skin scent, your skin but better. It's a gentle vanilla musk, and it is at the top of my wishlist. If you're intriqued by her website, check out The Perfumed Court where you can buy 1ml samples of many of her scents to see which ones you can't live without!
   

Have any of you tried any of these products? Do you have any recommendations for things you like better? Have a beautiful day!