A Description of My May 8th Makeup

by Stephanie McCarthy

Selfie of me with Wet n Wild, Wander Beauty & CoverGirl on eyes &

Revlon & Manasi 7 on face & neck & the same brand on lips.

I had a focus group in early May and, because I was so pleased with the results of my makeup that day, I decided to take a selfie of it and discuss the look.

 Wet n Wild Color Icon Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette, 0.35 oz 

Wet n Wild Color Icon Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette , 0.35 oz, $8.99 at Walmart 

Comfort Zone is the perfect name to describe the warm and cozy earth-toned shades in this sleek black plastic rectangular-shaped palette. With prices being sky-high on almost everything nowadays, you can rely on Wet n Wild’s makeup to remain affordable. I used the transition shade at the bottom of the case. It’s basically a gorgeous terracotta shade with less pink and more hints of orange, red, and brown in it. I took my time applying it, as well as blending and building it up, with a Q-tip on the eyelids, creases, above and around them, and on the brow bones. Sorry for my bushy eyebrows in the main picture above. Since then, I have gotten them waxed and they should look better in future photos that I take of myself for this blog.

I also love using the sparkly green shades. They’re the ones on the right side of the palette—the olive green one towards the top and the army green shade, with hints of gold, near the bottom. They match a sexy yet sophisticated and somewhat form-fitting mock turtleneck long sweater dress that I wear to Latin Mass on Sundays in the cooler months. Moreover, they bring out the dark and mid-toned bands of green on the outer parts of my eyes and the gold and brown flecks lining the inner parts. However, it has its drawbacks. The case is kind of a bitch to open and you have to use your thumbnail on your right hand to do so. Over time, it does get easier to open though. Moreover, that silver space you see towards the right-hand bottom of the case, in the photo above, once housed a very bright and tacky turquoise shade that not only doesn’t fit in with the rest of the color scheme in the palette, but it looks awful and makes a mess that is hell to clean up if you accidentally drop the case. 

Wander Beauty Mile High Club Length and Define Jet Black Mascara,

0.12 oz

Wander Beauty Mile High Club Length and Define Jet Black Mascara, 0.12 oz, $8.28 at ebay (aka evilbay)

It’s obvious that the makers of this mascara had sex on the brain when they created it. It’s also clear that length matters to them, as well as having a penchant for getting busy on planes. I picture either Mad Men-type advertising executives or perimenopausal women pitching this. Yes, early menopause gets you extra horny. I speak from experience. Oh, well. I try to take advantage of it as much as possible and I urge you to do so as well if you’re in a similar predicament. I hear it all goes downhill after that…In spite of my husband being a frequent flyer for his job, he had no idea what being a member of the mile high club meant. “Where have you been living—under a rock?!” I asked him incredulously before explaining the meaning of the term to him.

Anyway, on to the mascara. Because I already have long, full eyelashes, I only went in with one coat on each eye. The price point is fantastic and this small size is perfect, being that mascara only lasts for four months before it needs to be replaced. I’m still on a quest for a mascara that doesn’t clump…However, I do have a soft spot for Wander Beauty’s products. Their lip and cheek balm in the shade Honeymoon is awesome. It’s a gorgeous rosy nude color that gives me a dewy, sun-kissed look. This is great to use if you need to rush out the door quickly. The creamy formulation dissolves beautifully into the skin after you apply and blend it. I hope to cover it in greater detail once I get the ridiculously high amount of writing projects off my queue.

 CoverGirl Perfect Blend 110 Black Brown Eyeliner Pencil, 0.03 oz

CoverGirl Perfect Blend 110 Black Brown Eyeliner Pencil, 0.03 oz, $13.94 at Ulta
This is a gorgeous chocolate brown shade. One side has the eyeliner pencil, while the other end has a sponge tip to blend the eyeliner. However, I prefer to use a Q-tip. It gets the job done better. I also prefer a thinner line on my lower eyelids. So this pencil gets sharpened often. If you want to create a thicker line on the lower eyelids, allow the eyeliner pencil to wear down so that the tip becomes more blunt. I want to take the time to apologize for the scuffed and cracked nature of my makeup products in the pictures throughout this post. I really put my stuff through the paces when I use it.

Revlon 110 Ivory Makeup Foundation for Normal/Dry Skin with SPF 

20, 1.0 oz 

Revlon Colorstay 110 Ivory Makeup Foundation for Normal/Dry Skin with SPF 20, 1.0 oz, $16.99 at Walmart

In my mid to late 30s, my cystic acne breakouts were ugly, angry, painful, and itchy. This is not what you want when modeling is your primary source of income. Before a major gig, I actually had to have them drained out by my physician assistant at the dermatology practice I go to every now and then. Thankfully, I discovered Revlon Colorstay foundation around that time. The full coverage adequately covered my acne and it lasts for the whole day with little to no need of reapplying it. The SPF in it was perfect for the assignment I had, which was modeling outdoors. The ivory shade is a little lighter than my skin tone, but that’s okay. I actually prefer the color of my foundation to be a little on the lighter side instead of darker for a more natural look that makes me less self-conscious. Plus, you can remedy the extra paleness of your skin by going in with your favorite blush. My only complaint is that the matte finish, which is great at absorbing sweat, can cause a little patchiness on the drier areas of your skin. Therefore, it’s essential that you moisturize your skin a bit more than usual to deal with this.

The inside of Integrity Botanicals’ Manasi 7 Setsunai All Over Colour Sample

Manasi 7 Setsunai All Over Colour Sample at Integrity Botanicals

Once you click on the aforementioned link, be sure to click on the Setsunai option in the drop-down menu. I covered this in my December 16, 2023: https://thatbooksandbeautygirl.blogspot.com/non-toxic-makeup-brands and December 3, 2023: https://thatbooksandbeautygirl.blogspot.com/clean-beauty-multi-purpose-products blog posts on here. It can be used on the eyes, cheeks, and lips and it has a nice vanilla scent. I loved the brand’s original formula, as well as the ease of applying it, so much that I ended up buying almost all of their colors. However, their formula has changed and it’s not for the better. It’s so drying that it comes out in these thick clumps that are difficult to maneuver and blend into the skin. You need to either remove the excess makeup with toilet paper or cover it with foundation because it looks like you have hickeys on your neck. This is very time-consuming and it sucks, especially if you’re in a hurry. Thankfully, I’ve only used a couple of the samples with this new formula. The fact that the regular size of this costs nearly $45 for having such a crappy consistency is crazy. It also doesn’t help that this color is an obnoxiously loud red-orange (practically bordering on neon) one with a tinge of pink. Unfortunately, the label of the sample in the above picture is missing due to water from my bathroom sink getting on it and removing it.

Integrity Botanicals’ Manasi 7 Pacaya All Over Colour Sample

Arm swatches from left to right: Wet n Wild bottom transition shade, Wander Beauty Mile High Club Jet 

Black Mascara, CoverGirl Perfect Blend Black Brown Eyeliner, Revlon Colorstay Ivory Makeup & Manasi 7 

Setsunai & Pacaya All Over Colour

Manasi 7 Pacaya All Over Colour Sample

I had similar issues with this color to the ones I mentioned earlier with Setsunai. Due to the dark nature of this wine shade, it was impossible to use on the eyes and cheeks and I had to use wipes, as well as my favorite cleanser, to remove it. The color worked best on the lips. It also got all over my bathroom counter and shirt and I had to change it. Then, I went in with a couple of the peach shades in my makeup stash to soften and lighten up the color. Otherwise, I would’ve been singing “She’s in Parties” with the wonderful goth band, Bauhaus, for the whole day. Although it’s out of stock at Integrity Botanicals, it’s not the end of the world. It took me quite some time on my breaks over the course of two days to finally find a way to make this work. I made the mistake of using up the color before I took a picture of it inside the pot. One of the main challenges of blogging is that I consume things so much faster than I’m able to write about them and I know I’m not alone in this sentiment. I’m still pretty new to all of this. This blog isn’t even a year old yet and I’m still learning.

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