Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers Year-End Top Ten!

 Since I started Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers in January 2013, it seems only fitting that the last Friday of the year should be a retrospective of a few of my favorite products, ending with a couple that I haven't reviewed yet! Now, I'm not really good at ranking the things I love, so don't think of this as a "Top 10 Best Products" but more of a "the first ten things I thought of that I love and happen to have pictures of."

#1. Urban Decay Build-your-Own Palettes. While it's true that the colors in the palette I featured above had a "meh" pay-off, I really like the 6-pan build your own palette box they came in, and I also love my 4-pan with "Rock" in it. I also like that more and more companies are developing their own build-your own, because anything that makes it easier for me to take all my favorite colors in one easy package is OK with me.

 #2. BLAST FLIPSTICK! It is possible that I included these just because I love the name, but honestly, I do get a ton of use out of the berry-hued one.

#3. Lip Tar by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. I can't get enough of this stuff and I recommend it to everyone, I've even got my mom and my mother-in-law wearing it.

#4. Shiny, iridescent, color-shifting nail polish colors. This one is part of Maybelline's Color Show line but I like other brands, too.

#5. THE WONDER PENCIL! Another product where I love the name, but this unassuming, affordable product really does come in handy and I use it all the time. 

#6. Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book. I haven't used this as much as I would like but I am really in love with the colors.

#7. Imperialis Facial Moisturizer by Lush Cosmetics. I LOVE this stuff. It makes my face smell like orange blossoms. It's a light, creamy moisturizer which keeps my skin from drying out in the desert air.

#8 and #9. Zoya brand nail polish and Jamberry nail wraps. I love Zoya for their unusual colors which tend to hold up well. Here I'm wearing Seraphina with a Black Friday exclusive Winter Morning nail wrap for a lovely, wintery nail look. Jamberry lets me have the fancy nail designs I'd never be able to master myself, without having to carve out time to go to the salon.

#10. e.l.f Lashes. They're affordable. They're available in a variety of styles. They're easy to buy at Target. And while I've been told the glue isn't great, it is latex-free. I honestly don't know why I've never reviewed these, as they're definitely perfect for bellydancers. I mean, at this price, you can even occasionally wear them for date-night or a party and not feel guilty.

More Lip Tar!

 Last night I did some really quick and dirty skeleton makeup for my dance class costume, and since I didn't have the supplies or time to draw teeth over my lips, I instead decided to give myself bloody red lips as if I had just feasted on some mortal flesh. I achieved this gory color with some Black Dahlia lip tar from the new Sephora Exclusive All-Star Mini set of OCC Lip Tars which I picked up in NY.

For a full review of OCC Lip Tar, see this post. Today I'm just going to look at the mini set and also talk about clear lip tar.

 This picture is upside down because Blogger is dumb. Anyway, the set comes in a zipper pouch similar in design to what the full-size tars come in, but with little pockets for each color and a pocket for the brush, which is slightly smaller than the usual brush. I checked and there is enough room in the pouch to squeeze in a full-sized tube as well, so if you want to carry your clear with the colors, you can! You could also put in some extra brushes, or maybe a tiny lip liner pencil. The pouch feels sturdy enough to hold up to a bit of wear and tear, and the tubes themselves should hold enough product to last a while, given how little you use for each application. This would either make a great starter set, a good way to try a few colors, or a good travel set. at $20, it's a great deal, only a little more than one full-size tube!

The included colors are Memento (pink/plum neutral), NSFW (true, balanced red), Anime (vibrant neon pink), and Black Dahlia (blackened red). A pretty good range for a performer to have at hand. You've got your neutral look, your femme fatale red, your playful pink and your gothy wine. So far Black Dahlia is the only one I've worn on my lips, as shown in the skeleton photo. I really like how dark and luscious it is! I did notice some color bleed-out at the edges after dance class, so I think you should definitely line your lips when you wear this one.

As for the clear, I've worn it a couple of times under dark lip tar colors (I recently wore Black Metal Dahlia which is similar to plain ol' Black Dahlia but with the addition of glitter), and it does stop the color from collecting in little nooks and crannies much like a normal primer. It also comes with a brush, which you don't need since you apply it with your finger, so you'll have an extra brush for your colors.

Why you should be wearing lip tar for your next performance

 

I've already talked a bit about Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar because I used the green as an accent over other colors. I was so happy with it that I decided I should get a color that I could wear for all of my bellydance performances. I've used it two or three times now and I have to say I am really happy with it! I chose "Vintage" which is a nice wine red with a bit of purple/magenta undertone. The Sephora website calls it a Deep Burgundy and it looks that way in the tube but that's not how it wears.

 It comes in a cute little zipper pouch with a cute little brush for application. The cute little brush comes with a little plastic sleeve and you should not lose that, or you will end up with lip tar all over the inside of your cute little zipper pouch. Learn from my mistakes!

 

Here is a handswatch (Blogger has a case of the dumbs today and rotated the image. No wonder I am considering migrating to Wordpress). This was the tiniest dot on the brush. You can see how the color varies in intensity depending on how much you blend it out.

And here it is on my face! I made my lips WAY big because we were dancing on the big stage under bright lights. Oh, stage makeup, you make me look so.... different. Anyway. Nice intense color.

What I love about lip tar is that despite its name, it isn't sticky or goopy, so my hair doesn't get stuck in it. The color lasts forever and stays in place pretty well (sometimes I get a little transfer onto drinks, but not as much with an actual lipstick), but then when it's time to take it off... it comes right off! The instructions say to apply clear first, which I haven't done but I have found that putting down a lip primer first keeps it from leaving stains behind in any cracks in my lips, which makes for ease of removal.

I swear, this stuff is so magical I'd think it was made of pixie dust and unicorn tears, but the package insists that it is Vegan, Cruelty Free and Gluten Free (is gluten common in lip products? I really don't know). So it's a great product that you can feel great about using, and it comes in so many colors! No matter what your dance style, you can find the color you need, from a demure nude to a brilliant red to pure cyan blue and deep metallic black.

If my words aren't enough to convince you, I totally recommend going to Sephora to try some on. Wear it all day and decide for yourself! (Personally, I like to go to the store and put on Lovecraft because it's the sort of ridiculous sparkly pink I would never normally wear)