product junkie vs. the dark circles of doom

Ok, my head hurts, that is a given at this point.

One of the things I often receive compliments on is my skin, which I was taught to take care of from a very young age. Being an avid user of sunblock has kept my skin mostly wrinkle and spot free, which is pretty rad.

I inherited the "product junkie" gene from my mom, and have come across some good scores lately:

Because I've ALSO inherited some amazing under-eye circles which make me look like I've been punched in the face (twice),  I've waged war on these f*ckers.

Those who are blessed with hereditary black circles under their eyes feel my pain. I've been known to spend ridiculous amounts of money on products that will make this better. These reviews are my gift to you, fellow sufferers of the evil under eye pigmentation.

After much research and trial-and-error, i have found this product, which seems to be doing a good job thus far. the texture is a tiny bit grainy, and the color is definitely weird for a cream (it's tan-ish), but it feels very moisturizing. We'll see how it goes.

So, that's step one in the battle against the corpse look. Next up in the arsenal is:


 Bobbi Brown corrector~


I didn't realize that a corrector was necessary for darkness of this magnitude. Imagine my delight when I brushed this on and the pigmentation virtually disappeared! It has to be applied after eye cream has been allowed to soak in for 10 minutes or so. It's creamy, but really needs proper blending so as to avoid the cakey look that I HATE.



after the corrector comes the concealer, which has also been a never-ending battle in trying to find the right shade/consistency.




Bobbi Brown creamy concealer kit~

blending blending blending is KEY with this stuff. I think that just as bad a sad racoon eyes is the opposite look of waaaay too much  and obvious concealer. this kit comes with a powder that can be used to help set the concealer. Some folks don't like powder, as it can settle into fine lines around the eyes, but I have found a light touch does the trick.






As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate the difference in quality of higher end cosmetics/skincare vs.  the drug store variety.  I don't really like to look like I'm wearing makeup. It's better (for me) to just look like myself, but a little more polished. I always feel like a drag queen if I'm wearing anything that comes close to foundation, so tinted moisturizers are a good thing.

my current fave goes on after my regular moisturizer, as I find it's not the right texture for my taste, and I'd have to use too much to please my hydration needs, but it does give an interesting, well-rested effect.

I could go on and on about the products that take my attention away from the fact that I'm in pain pretty much 24-7, but this is good enough for now. My blathering might actually help someone?

books are food for the brain

Yesterday, I bought the new novel from Elizabeth Kostova, The Swan Thieves.  I really enjoyed her first book, The Historian, and have already read it 3 times!
Kostava has a very fluid, descriptive style of writing that sucks you right in and makes it impossible to put the book down.


 I don't even know what the Swan Thieves is about yet, but I know i love her work and will buy anything she writes. That says a lot for a young (in the literature sense) author!

 The Historian is one of the books i always recommend to people when they ask for opinions on what they should read next. Looking forward to digging in to the Swan Thieves.

Also reading "Let's Be Realistic" by Mike Devries, who is known for his work in color portrait tattoos. I consider myself a life-long student and am always looking for new/different/interesting ways to make my tattooing better. Once you think you know everything there is to know, you should probably just stop tattooing. There's always going to be many people who can teach me something, and knowledge comes in many forms.
There's some good tips and tricks in here, but  there's also quite a bit of filler. For a book that's aimed towards people who've been tattooing professionally for a long time, i think chapters on the basic things we learned as apprentices is a bit superfluous.
There's no denying that DeVries is very skilled and knowledgeable about what he does, and it's always interesting and informative to learn how how people work.