June 15, 2014

Blinc Brow Mousse- Dark Brunette

To whom it may concern, I have tiny eyebrows that make me self conscious when not made up.  Ok, maybe tiny is not the proper description, but they are naturally thin with sparse tails. Pencils are my eyebrows' best friends, but I love using a colored brow gel to go the extra step towards Elizabeth Taylor brows.
Liz Taylor, queen of eyebrows. (image from: idealbeautyacademy.net)
(tangent warning: scroll down for the review) My holy grail brow gel was limited edition and therefore discontinued, so I have been on the hunt for a replacement. It seems that every cruelty free eyebrow gel had shimmer in it- no bueno. Dear every company that makes eyebrow gels, what the hell is the purpose of putting shimmer in your product? Who has shimmery eyebrows in real life? I NEED TO KNOW! /endrant

After learning about the existence of Blinc's eyebrow mousse, I decided to try it.


COLOR/PIGMENTATION: "Dark Brunette" is a ash-toned dark brown. The product is very pigmented, and I could probably get away with using this alone to fill my brows in if i wasn't having a full-face makeup day (which, let's face it, is most days).

Blinc Eyebrow Mousse in action! I'm not wearing anything else on my brows.
PRODUCT: I wasn't sure what to expect with a name like "brow mousse" since I'm only familiar with gels and waxes, but "mousse" is not a misnomer. The product is opaque, and a thick texture (in comparison with a gel), so a little goes a long way. Despite it being thick, the application isn't difficult to master, nor do my brows look caked with product. It most definitely lives up to Blinc's claims of being fade-, water-, sweat-, and smudge-proof. 

PACKAGING: The packaging, when comparing it to a mascara tube, is a bit shorter in length, and a bit smaller in diameter. I like that the color is printed technically three times on the package (on the length of the package, and the cap has both the color name and the actual color on it)-- this will make for easy re-ordering! A problem I had with the other eyebrow products i was testing out was the brush-- usually it was too big for precise application or a strange shape that wasn't conducive to contributing excellent eyebrows. Blinc's brow mousse brush is slim, with a slightly tapered tip at the end of a short wand, which allows for a lot of control during application. However, for the sparse tails of my brows, I think I prefer to use a pencil to draw in hairs for a super precise result.

PRICE: $24

 Blinc's  Brow Mousse is definitely a winning, welcome addition to my makeup arsenal.  As a fair-complected person who dyes her hair black, Dark Brunette significantly darkens my brows without making them look harsh, and could even work when my color fades/roots start to grow in. Since the mousse is thick, it will be extremely noticeable (and probably won't look good) if you don't get the right color for your skin tone/hair color.

As always, you and your brows don't have to take my word for it, Blinc Brow Mousse is available in eight other shades (and clear) here with free shipping to boot!


June 12, 2014

Accutane Month 3

I finished another month of Accutane and haven't died yet!  Ok, not that this medication could be fatal, but all of the super horrible side effects that i read about (that initially made turn down taking it) haven't happened to me. Yet. (knock on whatever my desk is made out of)

I am sure I've mentioned this before, but the 100% worst thing about being on this medication is the dry lips.  It's something called "chelitis," and it's just annoying.  My lips peel and sometimes hurt, and sometimes whatever lip balm I'm using stops working because too much dead skin has built up.  These are the regular products I've been using:

+ Jack Black lip balm
+ A&D ointment - I use this at night, or if I'm home and my lips are particularly chapped and terrible.
+ Aquaphor - If i don't have A&D on my lips, or if it has already been absorbed, I'll slather this on    before bed.

I didn't mention this in my last post on the subject, but my doctor added another medication (Spironlactone) to help make the accutane work more efficiently. This is because my acne was hormonal, and I was still breaking out significantly after being on accutane for two months. I've definitely noticed a change for the better since I've been on the combination of meds. My fear is that, when I stop taking these, my acne will return. For now I'm trying to stay positive and enjoy my clear skin!

All natural, baby! Sorry for not brushing my hair.
These marks are from an old breakout that happened before I began taking spironlactone.