Capsule Makeup Kit, Revisited

I still love the idea of a capsule makeup kit; something that you can just throw a few tools in and leave on a romantic trip in a moment's notice.

Turns out, a capsule makeup kit is exactly what one needs to use up the makeup products she buys, (hopefully) preventing waste!

I found a "makeup bag theory" on putting together one look (a signature look?), and just wearing that look until all the makeup is gone, or replacing products as things get used up.

Lil Lady's Life - How I Finish Makeup
Lil Lady's Life - How I Finish Makeup: The Replacements

This is what is in my updated makeup bag; I have other makeup in my collection but it only comes out for very special occasions.  If I want to wear any makeup at all for "every day" it comes out of this bag.  Honestly, I usually just wear sunscreen unless I am going to my job's corporate headquarters for the day (I would like to cultivate the habit to wear makeup more regularly though), but this makes it really easy to grab something that just works, saving time and energy in the mornings.  I can get this entire routine on in about 15 minutes, and just the other night was able to get foundation, eye makeup, blush and lipstick on for a last-minute date in 5 minutes.

Makeup Bag: I'm still using a LeSportSac Travel Cosmetic bag, it's the perfect size for everything you might carry.  For travel I have enough room to add a sunscreen, a contact case with eyecream and face lotion, and a Japonesque lipstick palette (no longer available on Amazon).  I was able to move all my eyeshadows and most of my blushes to an Unii Palette; this slips into the travel cosmetic bag without a problem.  For tools at home I use my regular brushes; I'm pretty happy with the set that I've put together over the years but probably need to curate the collection a bit.  For travel I use a very nice travel set my mother-in-law gifted me last Christmas.

Foundation: I picked up a travel size of Dr. Jart Black Label Detox BB Cream, if I don't like it I'll go back to using Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, which feels a lot like Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua to me.

Concealers: For under my eyes, I've been using Bobbi Brown's Light Peach Corrector topped with a touch of Givenchy's Mister Light in Mister Toast.  For blemishes I've been using Bobbi Brown's Foundation Stick in Warm Ivory.

Powder: I keep a Chanel Les Beiges, but this is very luminous and for the office I might swap out for one of my loose powders (I have a Laura Mercier one and a pale yellow Bobbi Brown one) that I need to work through.

Blush: Using Chanel's Joues Contraste in Rose Petale.

Eyes: I don't do this every day, but when I do up my eyes I use any combination of these three products -  Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadow in RSVP, Chanel's Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Cassis, and black mascara.  This gives a really professional look and a similar eye was featured in Lisa Eldridge's Fresh and Polished Look for Office/Work.  I also keep an Anastasia Eyebrow Pencil in the bag, mostly to work through it.  It's a good product but super expensive for what you get - not a good value in my opinion.

Lips: I'm using up one of my (three!!) rose colored lipliners (Bobbi Brown's in Rose) and top it with Chanel Rouge Coco in Orchidee (discontinued).  I'm trying to get to the end of both of these products.  I carry a lipgloss in my purse for touchups.

For night or a special occasion I will add a touch of Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Grey Pearl and Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl on my cheekbones.

Pattern Review - Patchwork Please! Embroidery Case

I started out making this embroidery case for myself, but ended up giving it to a friend who has been recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma.  She cross-stitches a lot, so I thought she would appreciate and get a lot more joy out of this embroidery case than myself.

It's made out of Essex yarn dyed linen in Steel, and fabrics from the Airmail collection from Moda.  I used a scrap of grey wool felt for the needle pages, and some thicker (16 gauge) vinyl for the pocket.

This project was the whole reason I bought the Patchwork Please! book to begin with.  I wanted a pretty sewing case or "Hussif" with some patchwork or embroidery on it, and I didn't want it to be overly large or bulky.

For many of the projects in "Patchwork Please!", templates are provided which you are expected to photocopy and enlarge by 200%, then add your own 1/4" seam allowances.  For quite a few of the projects, this seems to be an OK, if annoying, method.  But for a patchwork front that is not paper pieced and is completely rectangles, squares, and triangles, I would have preferred complete dimensions for the necessary pieces.  I ended up wasting some fabric when I miscalculated the size of the triangles I needed.
 

 

I added a heart applique and some "airmail" themed ribbon to the back.

 

The binding was not my best work; I have some thoughts for sewing on the binding for the vinyl pocket more neatly but will have to try making the project again before I say for sure that my ideas will work well.  If you examine the photos in the book it looks like the two pieces of binding are applied separately, and the instructions for this are not very detailed, referring to "easily found internet instructions and YouTube videos".  I think the next time I make this I will use a slightly different technique for the cover binding and hand finish it; I was not happy with the machine finished result.

I would like to make this project again, this time for myself to house embroidery projects at home.  My friend was over the moon with the kit and I'm so happy that I gave it to her.

The completed item is large for what I had in mind for myself, but will fit a 7" hoop very comfortably, as well as a pattern and some notions.  I think for the hussif/sewing kit I have in mind I'll need to keep looking for a different pattern, however, the cover patchwork is really delightful and can be adapted for how many fabrics you have available.  It was a good exercise for working with triangles and the whole project can be done in an afternoon if you are ambitious.  I think I made the patchwork cover in an evening, the inside components on another evening, and finished the whole thing in a third afternoon session.  This included having to recut the patchwork portion out and trying to decide on an overall design with the fabrics and colors I had available to me.