indie makeup brands

You’ve heard of drugstore makeup and you’ve heard of high end makeup.  Have you tried Indie makeup?

Indie makeup is this whole other side of the cosmetics world.  They are usually operated by one or two people and work from home.  Their products are usually loose minerals but many companies are starting to make things like lipsticks and pressed shadows. 

So, why buy indie?

The main reason I buy from indie companies is because I like to support small businesses. When you buy from these companies you know where your money is going to.  

Face primer from Darling Girl.
Works just as great as stuff from Benefit or MUFE but for a fraction of the price.

Also, indie companies make really unique colors.  The owners really challenge themselves on creating interesting products.  They stay unique in order to not only compete with other indie companies, but also the rest of the cosmetics world.  


They  have some really great prices!  And you can order samples to try stuff out (not everyone wants to commit to a full size neon blue eyeshadow)!

Hair(story)

I had decently long hair and I really don’t know how it happened. One day it was at my shoulders and then it was at my waist. I was like, dude, calm down!  As it grew, I became more and more attached to it.  It came in handy that I didn’t need to do much to “do” my hair as I am lazyyyy when it comes to that part of beauty. I will spend an hour on my makeup, but no more than 10 minutes on my hair.  Top buns became my favorite friend. Messy low buns and side ponytails were always the perfect backup.  It was also great at hiding my face if a breakout was happening.

I forgot why I was making that face but who cares, now it
serves the purpose of showing my hair's wildness.

I used to be pretty impulsive with my hair: from dying to cutting, to even creating pigtails out of chopsticks. I’ve had a-line bobs, multiple colors, and bangs to name just a few.  And these would happen within months of each other.  Then I hit 21 and adulthood was on the horizon.  I needed normal hair in the real world, so I dyed it dark brown and let the layers grow.

Different hair styles from the past 6 years.

Ah, girls and their hair. Hair is synonymous with femininity and desirability, not sure why but it just is (because the Patriarchy that's why!). From dad’s forbidding their wives and daughters from even entering salons (yeah, it still happens) to the “butch” and “lesbian” slurs when the pixie cuts appear in the room, this is an old problem in feminism. The policing of women's hair has been yet another tool for people to control them. And when you add race to the question, well just look up the testimonies of girls dealing with "natural hair" on blogs and YouTube.

Lately, I had been itching to hack it all off. I wanted to take off the weight, but not just literally. I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the ~sexiness~ attached to my hair. I wanted to spite all the people that congratulated me on the length, which basically translated to "Yes good, you are an acceptable girl now. Not like you used to be”.  My hair was pulling me down. The longer it got, the more I hid in it.

Feminists have documented this hair dilemma for a long time, it's nothing new. Do a Google search for "feminism and hair" and you will get a reading list to last you the rest of summer.  Most of us don't really think of hair as a political statement, but it definitely is.  From girls cutting it off during personal crisis to punks with liberty spikes, the hair on your head (and everywhere else actually) is a huge political and public statement.  Just remember, you never want to be solely defined by it, well at least I don't. 

So I cut it. Hair grows back anyways.

Despite the face, I'm actually happy about this new cut.
Also, I'm wearing the new awesome Urban Decay Revolution lipstick in Turn On.

P.S. I wish I would have come up with this blog title in college, I would have written my thesis on hair just because of it.

Follow us on BlogLovin!

Google Reader is shutting down today (it's a sad day). But good news, BlogLovin is even better.  If you have too many blogs to follow and can't remember to check some of them, BlogLovin is the perfect way to keep track.  Just make an account, search the blog you want, and subscribe! 

Whenever you log in, all the new posts will be in a feed very much like Twitter or Tumblr, and you can just scroll down to read and catch up.  My favorite part is that it is web based, so you don't have to only be on your computer when you want to check, you can check from anywhere as long as you log into BlogLovin.

It also has a great browse feature for days when you want to find some new people to read.  It lists them by category, so there's more than just Beauty.  I like looking through the Street Style, Photography, and Home Decor top posts.  

Lastly, BlogLovin is friendly to bloggers because in order to read the full post, readers have to click through the link and read it on the blog's domain. This means we don't lose view counts. It helps us keep better track of our visitors and audience.

Click the image below to start an account and subscribe to Those Pore Girls

 

Top 10 Under $10

Emily over at Beauty Broadcast (one of my favorite YouTubers) started a tag called Top 10 under $10.  She lists some great stuff if you want to go check it out.   I thought it be fun to share what my top 10 are.

Rimmel’s Stay Matte Powder in Translucent, $5:  I like this for its quality vs price value.  I like to set my foundation with this when I use a full coverage one as it mattifies and sets it without caking on any more coverage.  Stay Matte keeps me oil-free for only a couple of hours though, but I’m extremely oily.  For the normal person, it should work most of the day.

Revlon Lip Butters, about $6:  My top three shades are Berry Smoothie, Pink Truffle, and Red Velvet.  These, of course, have great pigmentation and comfortable wear.  If you are just started wearing lip products, this is a great place to experiment.  

Wet N Wild “Comfort Zone” palette, $5 – Wet N Wild makes amazing eyeshadows under the Color Icon line, but this palette is worth its own mention.  There are 8 pans, half brown neutrals and half green neutrals that can be combined to make all kinds of looks.  The palette also has a dupe for MAC’s awesome duochrome eyeshadow, “Club”.

Orange Lipstick Collection

It's spring time which means it is time to break out the orange lips!  This season orange and coral will be very popular again, as it usually is. It's also my favorite lipstick color when it comes to brights (vampy purples are my second favorite). Orange just brightens up the face, it looks fun but not intimidating (I reserve reds for that).

 

Seashore Frosts

I'm sure the rest of the beauty blogging world has already posted about the following product, but I love it too much to not rave about it myself too.

Maybelline released their summer collection recently.  I went into Rite Aid for a quick 40% off visit to Wet n Wild when I was stopped in my tracks by the Maybelline display; I finally found them, the 8 limited edition Color Tattoos.  It's those words, LIMITED EDITION, that get me every time. I had heard that Seashore Frosts was the one to get from Nouveau Cheap, so as soon as I saw it I snatched it up.  What if someone had beaten me to it? 

This Color Tattoo is A LOT creamier than the other three I own, it almost feels whipped.  It's super blendable but does need a little bit of build to get an intense color.  It makes a great base for any color, especially if you are looking for some frostiness. 

More pictures after the jump!

Coconut For Your Hair

You know that amazing feeling when you try a new product, let's say shampoo, and your hair air dries perfectly, with waves you didn't even know you had and minimal frizz? Oh, you don't? Well, that's because you've never used a coconut milk shampoo! Seriously, I think I've found the missing link. And it's coconut.

I have thick 2a hair with loose s-waves, a mix of medium and coarse hairs, and a tendency to frizz. My waves fall out really easily, and so I've been searching for products that will help them form better and keep my hair from pouf-ing too much. For a long time, it seemed like that was just too much to ask. But then I found Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve and their amazing Coconut Milk Shampoo Bar. 

Image from Chagrin Valley website