The Regimen

My Essentials

(from right to left)

1. MAC's blacktrack fluidline eyeliner

accompanied by:

2. MAC's eyeliner brush #209

I wear this eyeliner all the time, as I'm sure you all have noticed.  A tutorial is still in the works to explain how I put it on, but it really just involves swiping it from the inner corners of the upper eyelids to the outer corners, diagonaling [real word?] upwards from the point at which the top and bottom eyelids meet.  

Okay, I think I just made that sound way more complicated than it is...  It does take practice, but it is very easy to do once you learn to keep your hand from shaking as you apply the liner.

3. Covergirl's lash blast volume in very black

My sister recently informed me that this brand of mascara is tested on animals, which I hate to condone, but the greatness that is this mascara makes it hard for me to switch until I've found an equally satisfying replacement.  Since using it, my eyelashes have definitely felt fuller and longer, which is saying something as I've found that most mascara brands tend to make my eyelashes look sparse and spidery (a lethal combination).

Case in point: 

   

My left eye is nothing special (may be on the verge of spidery, in fact), but take a look at those eyelashes on the right... mm, mmm!  All credit goes to the mascara.  

3. Dr. Hauschka's deodorant

I started using non-antiperspirant deodorant about a year ago, and found that a lot of the brands out there just added an additional herb-infused layer of scent to my already foul smelling odor.  This deodorant actually seems to work--even during the summer.  

4. Schwarzkopf OSiS dust it matifying powder

Song by Jefferson Airplane




5. 18-in-1 hemp peppermint pure-castille soap of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

My older sister left us a bottle of this stuff when she visited us this past summer, and Colin and I can't get enough of it.  Kudos to Jess for getting Colin to wash his body in the shower now...

The guy who makes it is a loon (he refers to our planet as Spaceship Earth), but he definitely knows how to concoct a good soap.  It leaves a wonderfully tingly clean feeling (like Orbit gum, but for your body) and could lather for hours it seems.  If this is how loony feels, I don't want to be sane.

6. MAC's "darkside" lipstick

accompanied by:

7. Stila's lipstick brush

[It doesn't actually have to be a Stila brush--I just happened to find this one cheap at a Stila trunk show]

If I'm ever wearing lipstick, it's this one.  I love the way this shade of lipstick complements my pale face. It's bold, but it strays away from looking too gothic.  It's got a great 20s vibe.

  

8. Biosilk silk therapy

I add a dime size of this to my hair after blow drying to add instant shine and to keep fly-aways away.  It also works to rehydrate hair, which makes my hair happy too.  And it smells D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!


**I can't take... well... any of the credit for discovering these "essentials."  My older sister, who's much more adventurous when it comes to experimenting with new beauty products, introduced me to all of them.  Just one of the many benefits of having an older sister...