Rant: What's in Store for Humanity?

Something threw my whole day out of whack today. Normally I can huff about something and move on, but this is truly haunting me.

I was taking my kids to the mall to pick up some new clothes, mainly for Rhett & Chloë, who are growing like weeds. We got on the bus and I stood in the stroller space, across from a young mom standing with a stroller, who had her 6 or 7 year old daughter perched on the lifted seat up against the window. That alone bothers me. It's kind of scary if you're as paranoid a mother as I am. I didn't realize how much more terrified I was going to be once this abomination opened her mouth.

She looked about 17, dressed like many other teenagers. Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, too much makeup, tights worn as pants, ballet flats, etc. Her daughter looked a bit... "gangsta." She was speaking to another teenager who was apparently not the father of any of her children. From the conversation I had no choice but to hear, she had at least 3 kids, and even used the term "my baby daddy!"

They were speaking obnoxiously loud about the drugs they do, the crimes and violent acts they commit, the people they know and the drama they're involved with. The first thing that caught my attention was the terrible grammar and language used. The second thing was when she told her child that she looked like she had "dipped her face in a big ol' pile 'a coke" (She had dusty residue from the jawbreaker she was chomping on on her chin.)

She went on to say "All my babies is brown 'cept one but I ain't never slept with no white guy never, he just came out white. It's crazy!" (She was white, herself, by the way.) It gets better! She speculated that "I don't hang out with any white people. By, like.. 2015... There will be no white people left earth. I'm serious! I don't know anyone with kids that's all white." (My 3 super white Irish Canadian kids were sitting 3 feet away from her, but whatever...)  She started another anecdote with "A few years ago, when I was like 13---"

The language she was using so loudly was something I would have preferred my children not to hear, but there was no point in asking her to tone it down if she did not care for her own kid's sake. I can also admit that in times of stress I have been known to drop a few bombs in the presence of tiny ears. Her and her friend began to talk about their upbringings and discipline and lack of. Apparently the boy's mother used corporeal punishment (It didn't work, lady!) and the girl said "If my mom beat me I never woulda been like this. I woulda been so good!" ... Her daughter chimed in... ""IMMA TROUBLE MAKA, YO. I don't care if I be gettin' beat or not. It don't stop me. I get sent to the office like SOOO many times. I'm always in trouble" To which the "mother" just smirked.

They went on to talk about some father winning custody of his kid despite the fact that he's a drug addict, because the mother, another friend of theirs, has been known to take the child to hotels to witness her prostituting herself. Also something about driving a car naked with her daughter in it.

I can't even begin to wrap my head around this. There was so much more but I had to try my damnedest to tune it out because it made me want to scream. They listed a lot of acquaintances, and I bet each one of those names were people just like them!  These trashy, super trashy people, several with children of their own. I knew kids these days were pretty stupid, but to this extent? Wow. Mind numbing. I seriously wanted to bleach my brain after getting off of the bus. Even scarier is the thought that my children will be in school with these mini hoodlums, especially my son Rhett- who at this point is completely non-verbal. These little pieces of shit will terrorize him and he won't be able to tell anyone that he needs help.

And if you're reading this, girl from the bus... Please get your shit together! Educate yourself. Realize that if you wanted to continue being a little girl you should have put your children up for adoption. It's time to grow up now. They deserve better and you're destroying their chances at living a productive life.

Fuck.
-H.Cat

PS: We shopped at H&M and Spencer Gifts, where I got pink silicone tunnels to stretch my ears to 5/8s (which I did, easily... BUT stretching with silicone is extremely dangerous, so look it up the risks if you're considering trying it and NEVER skip sizes!) and acrylic leopard print flares for when they are healed. Here's what I grabbed for my kiddies:

Full view of Chloë's new shirt, but the colour's way off.

This is a true representation of the colours. So cute!!

Right up Cail's alley. My boy loves sea life!

Dark pink shirt for Rhett to look ffffabulous in <3

New jeans for my super tall, super leggy Rhettski who is growing out of his all too quickly!

Shopping Day! WCW & Nail Polish!

Chloë and I were on the go yet again today. We paid our bills and did some nail polish shopping, had lunch... You know how it is. I grabbed a few new polish brands to try- specifically Sinful Colors, and Barelements. They were about 3 bucks a piece and at that price, if they suck I'll just use them on Chloë's toes. They're too small to really chip or show streaking. I gotta say, I needed a little shopping trip. I could go again, actually... but I'm going to buy even more groceries first because I love nothing better than a house full of food. Except my kids, of course!

My daughter looking gorgeous in her pink and red Baby Phat embroidered tracksuit. (Look at those adorable quilted pockets!)

Chloë's new Carter's romper. I want a matching one! For whatever reason, this picture didn't save my rotate. I am too lazy to fix it :D

These are our new polishes. We've swatched them and we are very happy!

 And for reasons unknown to myself, I decided to photograph what I could find of my growing nail art collections:

O.P.I, Sephora by O.P.I, Nicole by O.P.I

Random other good quality stuff- Gosh, Essie, MAC, Seche Base, various magnetics. I love those little Kiss paints 

Some more "affordable" products. 3rd in on the bottom row is my "Frankenstein" polish that I made with clear polish, pigments, and glitter. I will say more about it in an upcoming post

Sally Hansen & Random other glitters

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. I love these so much! The quality is fantastic and the price is even better. These can often be found for about $2 CAD (and that says a lot, because they rape us on the price of cosmetics in this country)

Stick ons, glitters, stencils, rhinstones, dotting tools, nail art brushes galore!

 Now I get to do something I've been putting off that I actually really enjoy. Budgeting! I rock with money. I get to figure out how much I have, my expenses, the balance, and the fun we can afford to have <3 I know two boys who are in need of some serious spoiling!

-H.Cat

NOTD

Panda. 'Nuff said.

Note the obscene gesture. It wasn't intentional. Guess it just comes natural! Haha. Kiiidding.

The Kidlets

There's a lot more going on behind these eyes than gooey black makeup buildup. I can't say I've ever felt so distracted before. For this reason I haven't really been in the headspace to create the content that I have on my chopping block. So, here, some WCW's I forgot to post (as usual!) and pictures of my boys snacking after daycare. 

Chloë is wearing a little cotton H&M dress with a generous coat of drool... and apparently a dirty diaper. Ew! I'm sorry (I actually REMEMBER that diaper. It was pretty... mustardy. 

On this day she wore her brother's old Ecko(?) shirt  from Winners (I'm sorry but I think it's hilarious to dress my kids like little gangsters on occasion) and some cropped legging with flower detail from the spring line at Bonnie Togs. 

Chloë and I were on the go today. She wore her purple H&M shoes and hat, along with her favorite leopard print H&M sweater and her Bonnie Tog skinny jeans with embroidered flowers. Underneath she was sporting her tattoo inspired Six Bunnies onesie (which we got at London Rock) ... Oh! And she accessorized with her fabulous pink purse. 

Nomnomnom

Rhett dipped his apples in yogurt

Nomnomnom

Cailum dipped his cheese in yogurt

Nomnomnom

Until next time!

-H. Cat

EOTD: Bitter & Atlantic Blue + WCW

Here's my eye of the day. I just got Atlantic Blue so I put it to the test with my old favorite, Bitter.
I also bought Chloe two new outfits for the warm weather, and I've included yesterday's outfit
I thought I would just throw this picture I made out there. It's supposed to go in my page about basic eyeshadow application. I don't suggest that you paint all of the areas a different colour (You could, I mean.. it would be fun!) but just to show you the areas that I often refer to.
You know the drill... For my eyes I used:

• UDPP
• MAC Blanc Type as a base
• MAC Bitter on the inner half and inner lower lash line
• MAC Atlantic Blue on the outer half and outer lower lash line
• MAC Dazzlelight to blend out the Atlantic Blue
• MAC Blacktrack Fluidline for the lash line
• MAC Feline for the water line
• MAC Nylon to highlight the brow bone and tearduct
• MAC False Lashes Extreme Black

Nail + Shadow Coordination

Yesterday's "What's Chloë Wearing!?" picture that I never got around to! A Bonnie Togs romper with an H&M sweater. So sweet <3

 Her new summer dress and matching dress from Bonnie Togs. Matching barrettes, also!

Adorable brown polkadot romper with crochet flower accent <3

Big smiles!

Sneak preview of the shadow application tutorial I'm working on. 

That's all, folks. <3

-H.Cat

EOTD: Newly Minted & Rhettski!

Today I used Newly Minted (for the first time, I think.) I primed with UDPP and applied...

• Aspen Summit No. 23 (A frosty white) all over the lid, and up to the brow with a lighter hand
• Newly Minted on the outer 3rd of each eyelid
• Juxt, blended up slightly above the crease
• Deep Truth, applied to the crease with a small angle brush and blended up and inward
• Blacktrack Fluidline on the lash line
• Feline on the waterline
• Nylon on the inner water line & to highlight the brow bones
• False Lashes Extreme Black mascara

I also snagged some pictures with my main man, Rhettski.<3

-H. Cat

NOTD: Blue & Silver Scale + W.C.W!

I snapped a quick picture for another "Whats Chloë Wearing!?" entry the other day and forgot to post it, so I've got two here. Also, my nail of the day <3
Colour Club Magnetic Force in Electro Midnight, with silver paint detailing, topped with ORLY "Won't Chip"

Excuse my briefness. I'm spent from researching and writing up my Tarte Mega Review

What's Chloë Wearing!? 

Here's the outfit from the forgotten edition of "What's Chloë Wearing?"

Chloë was going for a sloppy-chic look with basic black pigtals and an H&M knitted t-shirt dress with an adorable bow print. 

And today we see saw Chloe in this adorable 2nd hand throw-together. A red corduroy miniskirt with built in undies and leopard piping around the pockets with button accents, paired with a leopard print turtle neck sweater and matching red hair elastics. So cute!

Until next time
<3
-H. Cat

Tarte Mega Review!

I normally have a different system for my reviews, but since I got all of these products together in as my VIB 500 point perk at Sephora, I’m going to review them all in the same post. The reviews are kind of all over the place, but I’ve tried to include any helpful information I could think of. The kit contained 5 products. A primer, a finishing powder, a lip colour, an eyeliner, and a bronzer. Two of which were said to be full sized (the lip colour, and the bronzer, maybe? Perhaps the eyeliner. Not sure!) and only one of them was a major flop in my opinion. This was a good introduction to Tarte for me. I had swatched a few of the products before and I’ve always heard great things. The price point is a bit up there, and I find most of the packaging looks cheap and is all over the place (as opposed to MAC packaging, which has a standard appearance.)

So let’s see what we’re working with…

Emphaseyes Liner, Smooth Operator Powder, Amazonian Clay Bronzer, ReCreate Primer, LipSurgence Tint

ReCreate “Silicone-free primer with Wrinkle Rewind technology” $32

I couldn’t find what Tarte had to say about this product, because it seems that it’s no longer available. I’ll tell you what I know:

I’ve been wearing this daily for over two weeks, and most days I don’t see the point. I like the product, but it seems nothing more than a light weight moisturizer. It doesn’t change the application or appearance of my foundation, save for an added dewiness with drier, heavier foundations. I can see this may be problematic if you’ve got naturally oily skin. It does hydrate the skin and feels smooth to touch, but I honestly prefer silicone primers. I knowww- silicone is bad! But I love it. I love it on my face and in my hair. Uhh.. Anyway. Because this is silicone free it shouldn’t cause breakouts. I’m sure sure if it helps your makeup last longer because mine has always stayed on my face until I am ready to remove it. I am also not sure of the claim that it  helps with wrinkles, as I thankfully have none!

Smooth Operator $28

What Tarte has to say:

“The breakthrough technology of this micronized clay finishing powder improves the production of keratin, a building block of skin synthesis, to promote the tightening of skin and effectively shrinking oversized pores.Amazonian clay, nature's most perfect ingredient, acts as a total skin balancer by reducing dryness and flakiness, improving clarity and texture and removing surface oil to mattify skin for a soft focus and flawless finish. 

To apply, use a large fluffy brush and lightly dust colorless finishing powder over skin alone as a treatment or over concealer and foundation to keep makeup in place and add a natural finish. Smooth operator™ micronized clay finishing powder with PM20™ can also be used for targeted application; use your ring finger to gently pat finishing powder over undereye or blemish concealer to keep product from migrating into fine lines, wrinkles and dried, damaged skin.”

So what on earth is PM20? Tarte has an answer for that, too…
“PM20™: proprietary pore minimizing molecular compound clinically proven to reduce the number and size of pores by 20% after 4 weeks”

My beef is that the first ingredient listed on this stuff is Silica. What the hell? Does that sound like something you should be applying to your face? I looked it up, and apparently this isn’t the first product I’ve tried (and loved) to contain this ingredient. If you want to know more about Silica in makeup (particularly if you’re fearing Silicosis) The Beauty Brains has basically covered everything I discovered and wanted to share on the topic.

The good news is that it’s free of a bunch of other crap, which includes mineral oil, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, synthetic fragrance, and it’s cruelty free. Now that we’ve got the tongue twisters out of the way, here’s why I love this stuff:

It’s a finely milled powder that is easy to use sparingly and doesn’t create a big mess. You can turn the packaging (your typical shaker) up side down, give it two firm taps, flip it up right, dip your brush, tap, and apply to your face. There should not be a cloud of powder floating through the air.

It’s virtually invisible on the face (I apply it with my MAC 187), it helps control shine, sets makeup well, and it does not look dry or powdery as it does all of this. It also doesn’t have a weird smell. I think MAC’s Prep + Prime translucent powder smells somewhat like ether.

Amazonian Clay Bronzer in “Park Ave Princess” $29

Tarte says: “Sweep on this lightweight mineral powder and reap all the benefits: the fragrance free, talc free formula allows skin to breathe and it won't clog your pores even on the hottest days (and steamiest nights!).”

It contains vitamins A, C, & E, Amazonian clay (which apparently balances skin, and mineral pigments. It does not contain parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, or synthetic fragrance. My hippie readers will appreciate that the packaging is recyclable and made with soy ink. To me the packaging looks cute but feels flimsy. I would hate to drop this.

The colour itself is, in my opinion, universally flattering. It’s got a bit too much glow for a contour colour. For paler girls like myself it’s a bit much for an all over look, but does a lovely job at “sunkissed.” It will be more versatile with darker skin tones.  It does look way glittery in the pan, but when applied it becomes more of a sheen. A gorgeous sheen, actually. I recommend this be applied with a light hand and a big fluffy brush. You can always build it up to your taste. The texture is smooth and buttery and the pigmentation is great.

EmphasEYES High Definition Inner Rim Eyeliner Pencil  $18

Tarte says “This super-slim inner rim eyeliner pencil is a must when trying to achieve a sexy smokey eye. The result? That smoldering look that you see in all the magazines but aren't sure how to create - this is the finishing touch. “

Some of the ingredients include vitamins A & E, aloe leaf, and mineral pigments. It’s free of the aforementioned nasties (mineral oil, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, synthetic fragrance) and is cruelty free and dermatologist tested. The packaging is environmentally friendly and made with soy ink

And knowing all that, I still wouldn’t pay a penny for this shitty product. I hate it! I hate it so much it pains me to waste my time telling you about it, but I’ll let you know why I hate it so hopefully I can prevent anyone from wasting their money on it.

The packaging is your basic twist up liner. A very thin stick of product, which initially excited me. I thought it would be fantastic for getting into small spaces… The second I swatched it on my hand I knew it was garbage. It was stiff, scratchy, the consistency of the product was uneven. It’s dry, it breaks and crumbles. It streaks. It’s kind of hard to get it to show up, especially evenly. If you manage to get past that and apply it (it looked garish, no matter what I did!) you’ll find that it smudges and has no lasting power.  

I can say with 100% certainty that this is the absolute worst product I have ever tried. I am so glad it was free. I would pay someone to keep this crap away from my face.

LipSurgence “Natural Matte Lip Tint” in “Lively” $24

I saved the best for last.

This is a lip tint/stain that’s forumulated with jojoba seed oil, peppermint oil, and vitamins C & E. Like the other products reviewed, it does not contain mineral oil, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, synthetic fragrance, petroleum, and is cruelty free.

Unfortunately the colour selection is small, but that isn’t to say that the choices aren’t top notch. They’ve got a nude, a baby pink, a berry, a hot pink, and a red. Perhaps another one or two. The colour I have is called “Lively” and it reminds me of a burnt raspberry with a hint if fuchsia.

The packaging is okay. Some might find it cute, but the aesthetic of it does not appeal to me. It looks teenybopperish. It’s a somewhat creamy jump lip crayon, twist up so you don’t have to fuss with a sharpener. The lid snaps on tightly, which I appreciate. Oddly, I also like the FEEL of the tube... but I can't explain it.

They are all matte finish, and I love a matte lip! In fact, I’m predicting that matte lips will be in for Spring/Summer 2012. The amazing thing about this product is that it does not FEEL like a matte. It’s slightly moisturizing (I’d apply over a balm, anyway.) It does not feel thick, stiff, or dry. It glides on smooth with a refreshing peppermint scent and taste. It’s not overpowering and dissipates after about 10 minutes of wear. Some people claim that it tingled their lips just slightly, but I didn’t experience that.

These have excellent pigmentation and are long lasting. I went out for coffee with a friend and the family last night wearing this, and it was still on my lips when I got home. That’s incredibly impressive because I am hard on lipstick. I drank lemonade with a straw, scarfed down a cookie, drank a mocha without a lid, kissed my kids faces, yapped, and whatever else I do that usually scares lipstick off my face in 30 minutes tops. Didn’t even require a touch up! (Which is good because I’m not so big on touchups. I put my makeup on in the morning, and I wash it off at night. Seldom anything in between.)

The only problem I could forsee is that when this does start to wear off, it’ll probably breakdown unevenly, so keep the tube on hand for touchups if you’re going to be out at any sort of function.

I WILL buy every single shade of these… It’s just going to take a while at $24 a pop!

And there you have it! I'll leave you with the Tarte swatches I took for my swatch gallery. 

-H.Cat <3