Waaahhh, so loving the warm reactions I've been getting to my giveaway! Totally unexpected but I have read every single comment and have laughed and cried. ^^ Please keep entering here because the giveaway will end on 11-10-09 at 8pm CST. This is all for you guys for being such wonderful readers and friends. ;)
As my twitter followers have probably heard, my husband had to go to the ER last night. He was in a ton of pain at about 10:40pm on his left side near the back. Not just pain, but so much pain that he was physically shaking and sweating. Pretty scary stuff. We got to the ER very quickly, just before 11, and hubs got an IV and CAT scan which was clear. He also got pain meds in his IV about 4 times which did nothing for his pain at all! I can't tell you how frustrating it is when your husband doesn't even want to talk or hold your hand because of the amount of pain he is in. Hours were passing, and the doctor told us he wanted hubs to stay overnight in the hospital. We moved into a hospital room at around 2:30am and after things were situated, I pushed together a few chairs and got a few hours of sleep around 3:45.
The doctor apparently gave hubs morphine which finally eased some of his pain for the first time at 5am. In the morning the doctor told us that it was probably a kidney stone that passed overnight, which are notorious for being extremely painful. It was missed by the CAT scan but they found blood in his urine sample. My poor baby. T.T We got home at around noon today, so our goal has just been to take it easy. Hubs is feeling much better, and I just really want to thank those who were supporting me last night.
OKAY so now that the drama is mostly over, I wanted to post up something I've been talking about for a while, Wonder Eyelid Tape by the Japanese company D-up. This has been my double eyelid crease-maker of choice lately because it is seriously very natural and doesn't take much makeup to look nice. The trick to this tape is that it is actually double-stick, sticky on both sides.
Here is my application tutorial:
It's very thin so I find it works best for those with thinner lids or those with more defined creases. I actually originally tried this out a year ago and I'm not sure if my technique was off then or my creases just didn't work well with the product, but I was quite frustrated with the results. The tape would come off within an hour and came off as soon as I applied eyeshadow. I can't say exactly what changed, but I decided to pick it up and try again a year later. This time, I was very pleasantly surprised. As long as I applied shadow before tape application and was very careful to place the tape without touching it, it would often last all day. In cases where it doesn't, it usually still sticks 80% which at least holds the crease. Compared to Eye Charm tape which doesn't hide itself at all because it only sticks on one side, it is quite an interesting change!
I will say that there are some pros and cons with Wonder Eyelid tapes.
Pros:
* Crease is hidden and more natural-looking
* Able to wear less eye makeup
* No need to use eyeliner to "camouflage" tape
* Seems to hold crease better than traditional tape
* Lashes appear longer than with Eye Charm (probably because of less eyeliner)
Cons:
* Can be difficult to get ahold of
* Price (about $17 USD for 1 pack vs. about $5 for 1 pack of Eyecharm)
* Can't apply makeup AFTER tape application or tape will become loose faster
* Eyes appear smaller than with Eye Charm
* Crease doesn't always stay "deep" since the tape is skinny
Overall, Wonder tapes win out over Eye Charm for daily looks due to its naturalness for me. I think I still prefer Eye Charm for really dramatic or smokey eyes since the tape is thicker and therefore has more "strength" to hold the skin below the crease up, causing a larger eye shape. (This may only make sense to monolidders!) But I do find that Wonder tapes have a tendency to create a semi-permanent crease more often than Eye Charm. I'll probably still use both depending on my mood and makeup type.
Since pics can often explain better than my words can, here are a ton of pics of Wonder Eyelid Tape (old and new versions) and also my application.
Old Version (Mild type) and New Version (Extra type)
Old version came with 40 pairs of tapes, 1 V-shaped applicator, and 2 oil cleansing removers
Tape packaging has greatly improved! There are now 60 pairs in each pack and it is much easier to remove from the backing.
Previous tapes had backing in 1 strip, but new version has the backing split in the middle for easy removal.
Instructions from the new packaging.
Pulling off second half of backing. First half was already pulled off.
Tape on the applicator
Now, here is my makeup process.
Clean eye, no makeup. Prime lids with eyeshadow primer first.
Next, apply shadows with pink on the lid, copper for the outer contour, and highlight the browbone. You could use NYX Flamingo, Almond, and Cream Cheese for these colors OR the top left well of the Stila Barbie Palette.
Apply MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack.
Here is my eye after the tape application, with curled and mascara'd lashes.
Aaaand my face.
You can buy Wonder Eyelid Tape with the new packaging from me at http://frmheadtotoe.bigcartel.com. I haven't seen a huge difference in efficacy between "Mild" and "Extra" type honestly, the tape backing is just more difficult to remove with the old packaging.
Okay, hope this THOROUGH and too-long review was helpful! As a disclaimer, I would love it if you guys could refrain from comments like "you look better with..." because, I mean, choosing JUST ONE WAY really isn't the point. Spreading the word about what's available so you can make your own decision is. ;)
Love you all!
xoxo
As my twitter followers have probably heard, my husband had to go to the ER last night. He was in a ton of pain at about 10:40pm on his left side near the back. Not just pain, but so much pain that he was physically shaking and sweating. Pretty scary stuff. We got to the ER very quickly, just before 11, and hubs got an IV and CAT scan which was clear. He also got pain meds in his IV about 4 times which did nothing for his pain at all! I can't tell you how frustrating it is when your husband doesn't even want to talk or hold your hand because of the amount of pain he is in. Hours were passing, and the doctor told us he wanted hubs to stay overnight in the hospital. We moved into a hospital room at around 2:30am and after things were situated, I pushed together a few chairs and got a few hours of sleep around 3:45.
The doctor apparently gave hubs morphine which finally eased some of his pain for the first time at 5am. In the morning the doctor told us that it was probably a kidney stone that passed overnight, which are notorious for being extremely painful. It was missed by the CAT scan but they found blood in his urine sample. My poor baby. T.T We got home at around noon today, so our goal has just been to take it easy. Hubs is feeling much better, and I just really want to thank those who were supporting me last night.
OKAY so now that the drama is mostly over, I wanted to post up something I've been talking about for a while, Wonder Eyelid Tape by the Japanese company D-up. This has been my double eyelid crease-maker of choice lately because it is seriously very natural and doesn't take much makeup to look nice. The trick to this tape is that it is actually double-stick, sticky on both sides.
Here is my application tutorial:
It's very thin so I find it works best for those with thinner lids or those with more defined creases. I actually originally tried this out a year ago and I'm not sure if my technique was off then or my creases just didn't work well with the product, but I was quite frustrated with the results. The tape would come off within an hour and came off as soon as I applied eyeshadow. I can't say exactly what changed, but I decided to pick it up and try again a year later. This time, I was very pleasantly surprised. As long as I applied shadow before tape application and was very careful to place the tape without touching it, it would often last all day. In cases where it doesn't, it usually still sticks 80% which at least holds the crease. Compared to Eye Charm tape which doesn't hide itself at all because it only sticks on one side, it is quite an interesting change!
I will say that there are some pros and cons with Wonder Eyelid tapes.
Pros:
* Crease is hidden and more natural-looking
* Able to wear less eye makeup
* No need to use eyeliner to "camouflage" tape
* Seems to hold crease better than traditional tape
* Lashes appear longer than with Eye Charm (probably because of less eyeliner)
Cons:
* Can be difficult to get ahold of
* Price (about $17 USD for 1 pack vs. about $5 for 1 pack of Eyecharm)
* Can't apply makeup AFTER tape application or tape will become loose faster
* Eyes appear smaller than with Eye Charm
* Crease doesn't always stay "deep" since the tape is skinny
Overall, Wonder tapes win out over Eye Charm for daily looks due to its naturalness for me. I think I still prefer Eye Charm for really dramatic or smokey eyes since the tape is thicker and therefore has more "strength" to hold the skin below the crease up, causing a larger eye shape. (This may only make sense to monolidders!) But I do find that Wonder tapes have a tendency to create a semi-permanent crease more often than Eye Charm. I'll probably still use both depending on my mood and makeup type.
Since pics can often explain better than my words can, here are a ton of pics of Wonder Eyelid Tape (old and new versions) and also my application.
Old Version (Mild type) and New Version (Extra type)
Old version came with 40 pairs of tapes, 1 V-shaped applicator, and 2 oil cleansing removers
Tape packaging has greatly improved! There are now 60 pairs in each pack and it is much easier to remove from the backing.
Previous tapes had backing in 1 strip, but new version has the backing split in the middle for easy removal.
Instructions from the new packaging.
Pulling off second half of backing. First half was already pulled off.
Tape on the applicator
Now, here is my makeup process.
Clean eye, no makeup. Prime lids with eyeshadow primer first.
Next, apply shadows with pink on the lid, copper for the outer contour, and highlight the browbone. You could use NYX Flamingo, Almond, and Cream Cheese for these colors OR the top left well of the Stila Barbie Palette.
Apply MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack.
Here is my eye after the tape application, with curled and mascara'd lashes.
Aaaand my face.
You can buy Wonder Eyelid Tape with the new packaging from me at http://frmheadtotoe.bigcartel.com. I haven't seen a huge difference in efficacy between "Mild" and "Extra" type honestly, the tape backing is just more difficult to remove with the old packaging.
Okay, hope this THOROUGH and too-long review was helpful! As a disclaimer, I would love it if you guys could refrain from comments like "you look better with..." because, I mean, choosing JUST ONE WAY really isn't the point. Spreading the word about what's available so you can make your own decision is. ;)
Love you all!
xoxo