Energy Efficient Blog Layout Design?

A long time ago I remember going to a blog-layout site that advertised "green" layouts. "Green" meaning eco-friendly. This was a foreign notion to me and I didn't really read too much into it other than noticing all the layouts they had available were black or dark. In re-designing my blog layout, I randomly remembered about this and wanted to learn more about it.

Here's a few things I found out:

• Reduction in energy usage can be obtained by designing web sites that use darker colors or shades, particularly within sites’ backgrounds.
• According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, “White and bright colors (especially in backgrounds) can use up to 20% more power than black or dark colors.”
• Your screen is composed of pixels, and the color of each pixel is determined by the amount light passing through it: white is 100% light output, and black is zero. The takeaway here is that for certain types of devices (e.g. projectors, older monitors, and LED screens), brighter colors consume more energy than darker colors
• If you’re viewing these websites on a state-of the-art LCD screen, the difference in color amounts to pretty much nothing. But with old-style CRT monitors (which are still heavily used) and even LED monitors (which are increasingly being adopted) —the impact of color is significant.
• If you want to save energy while searching the web, try Blackle, a black-bacgrounded version of Google.
• While there is controversy over whether a black color palette is more energy efficient than light colors on a website, there are still proponents of the darker website design.

Sources:
http://www.sproutreach.com/blog/design-for-environmental-causes/energy-efficient-web-design/
http://blog.opower.com/2013/06/saving-energy-by-design-how-simple-considerations-by-web-designers-can-shrink-the-internets-energy-footprint/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/09/20/making-the-web-a-better-place-guidelines-for-green-web-design/

I have an iMac which has an LCD screen so I guess the color difference is "pretty much nothing," but I figure if other people viewing my blog might have different kinds of screens, it would be good to revamp my layout to be more energy efficient and thus, more eco-friendly.

So I went from a super bright-based layout...

...To what I have now. I opted for a dark background but of course had to have a pop of pink :P

What do you think of the idea of "green" blog layout design?
Is your layout energy efficient?

Your thoughts on... Multi-purposing your makeup + A Multi-purpose EOTD/FOTD

Hello loves! Today I wanted to share my thoughts on Multi-purposing your makeup. I am a believer that makeup doesn't have to have limitations. Just because something is labeled as "eyeshadow" or "blush" doesn't mean you ALWAYS have to use it as such!

I got this Revlon Perle eyeshadow in "Brushed Copper" from a swap with Ndoodles! It's a gorgeous champagne shade.

It's a little too light for me to use as just a lid shade, but it makes a wonderful highlight!

The multi-purpose?It also makes a wonderful highlight for cheeks!
Applied with a light hand, it gives a nice, subtle glow.
The glitter is not overpowering and gives off pretty shimmers.

Another product I use daily for a TOTALLY different purpose than it is intended for is DHC Rose Beauty Eye Zone Treatment Retouch Q10. I got this from a swap with Angela of SparkleMidori. I tried using this a few times as an undereye concealer, but it is too sheer for my dark circles and caused my eyeliner to smudge really quickly.

The multi-purpose?I decided to use it as a lip primer/concealer!

NOTE: To the best of my knowledge, this does not contain ingredients that would be harmful to lips. I mean, I use regular concealer/foundation on my lips all the time too, and that doesn't cause me any problems. I could not find an actual ingredient list, but I did find this list from Lotus Palace: olive oil essence, Coenzyme Q10, a sunscreen of SPF30 PA+++ and clear rose pigment.

It perfectly lightens up the pigmentation of my lips and preps for lipcolor, which shows up A LOT better! Also, with continued use, it has made my lips much smoother and softer : )

Another product I like to make alternative use of is BLUSH!

The multi-purpose?

Layered over lipbalm, you can create so many gorgeous custom lipcolors using blush! This is MAC "Style" poweder blush over EOS lip balm.

This is ELF Natural Radiance Blusher "Glow" over MAC "Style" powder blush over EOS lip balm. Tell me that isn't gorgeous!

This is ELF Natural Radiance Blusher "Glow" by itself, over EOS lip balm.

The last product I wanted to talk about is BRONZER.

The multi-purpose?
If you don't like the way a bronzer looks on your face, you can use it as eyeshadow!
You can also use the individual shades for different uses.

- - - - - - - EOTD/FOTD - - - - - - -For this EOTD/FOTD, I'm using ELF's Studio Warm Bronzer; the individual colors as eyeshadow, the pink shade as blush, and the shades mixed together as a contour shade.

While the pigmentation of the individual bronzer shades are only average, layered over ELF mineral eye primer, they make for a great neutral eye look. Shade 2 and 3 are good for highlights. Shade 1 and 4 are good for lid/crease shades. I also used shade 2 as a blush. I used all the shades swirled together to contour my cheekbones.

• To finish the eye look, I applied a dark brown shade (5) from my Wet N Wild Color Icon palette in "Vanity" on my lid.

• To finish the lips, I topped off the blush lipcolor with NYX Round lip gloss in "Whipped" and YSL Golden Gloss in "Golden Peony."

• For the rest of my face, I used a light dusting of EDM pressed powder in "Light" + MAC MSF Natural in "Medium." For my cheeks, I layered over the pink shade from the ELF Studio Bronzer with ELF Studio Blush in "Candid Coral" and MAC powder blush in "Style."

The finished look:

(I realize that the majority of my FOTDs/EOTDs look like this, lol. What can I say, I like browns/golds :P)

So what are your thoughts on multi-purposing your makeup?Do you multi-purpose any products? Thinking of trying it?

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Your Thoughts On... New ELF Products?

Hey everyone! I haven't done a "Your Thoughts On" post in awhile so I figured now would be a good time to do one :) It seems that ELF has been coming out with a quite a lot of new products lately...

I haven't tried anything yet but I'm interested in the Lipstick and Zit Zapper, especially. It's just too bad that there's not that many lipstick shades. The Zit Zapper really caught my eye... if it truly works for $1, that would be pretty awesome.

Read a less-than-stellar review of the Mineral Blemish Kit, so I'm a little iffy on that one. The Shimmer Eyeliner sounds cute but every ELF liner I've tried so far smudges like crazy. So I think I'll wait to see some reviews before trying that out.

Have tried any of ELF's latest products?
Anything you want to try?

MAC Springsheen Pics/Swatches + Your Thoughts On... Must-Have MAC Products?

Hello loves! I've been on a roll with the MAC lately... I must admit, even after all the years of avoiding it like the plague (mostly due to snobby, pushy MUAs and my distaste for their foundation); I have finally reached a point where I am comfortable with hitting up our Macy's MAC counter for longer than 30 seconds!!! Still; my limit is maybe... 5 minutes max before I start getting annoyed just being there lol. So while I still don't particularly "enjoy" browsing there, at least I have a better idea now of which MUAs are snobby and pushy and which are more helpful and willing to listen.

I recently found a bunch of unused gift cards hiding in my wallet, and of course, I headed to the MAC counter (instead of looking for clothes or shoes... because our Macy's selection sucks). And by now, I'm sure aaaall of you know that I'm a blush-aholic in the making :P So I went with the intention of either getting their powder blush in Peachykeen or Springsheen; so I could check it off my wishlist.

Sooo.... I settled on Springsheen this time : )

Springsheen is described as a "Peach with Pearl (Sheertone Shimmer)"
Very pretty! Sorry these swatches aren't spot-on accurate... it looks really pink but it's more peachy IRL


Anywho, It's been awhile since I did a Your Thoughts On... post.
So here's a question for all the MACaholics out there:

What are your must-have MAC products?
What would you recommend?

I could go review-hunting... but I'd much rather hear it from you ladies first!
Rec me some stuff plz? : )

• I'm mostly interested in their blushes. I know which shades I want for sure (Peachykeen, Fleur Power, Hipness, and Instant Chic), but I'm also a bit curious about the shades Dollymix, Plum Foolery, and Margin (do you think Margin is too similar to Springsheen & Peachykeen?) Any input for me on these shades? : )
  
  
• I am not too interested in their foundations, but I'd love to hear your experiences w/ them! I've heard a lot of both good and bad. Studio Tech was a no-go for me. Wasn't too fond of Studio Sculpt either.
  
  
• Somewhat surprisingly, I am also not too interested in their eyeshadows. I have tried a few and wasn't really wowed. But I know there's certain shades that people swear by... What would you recommend?
  
  
• I am interested in their lippies though! I'm partial to nudes, light pinks, and light peachy/coral shades; and I've been particularly interested in the Boy Bait Cremesheen glass, and Creme d 'Nude Cremesheen lipstick. What are some of your fav lipsticks and lipglasses? Lip conditioners? Tinted Lip Conditioners?
  
  
• I'm not too keen on their brushes simply because of the price... but nonetheless, I can be convinced (;
  
  
• I'm a bit curious about their Oil Control Lotion, Fix +, and Strobe Cream/Liquid as well.

So what are YOUR must-haves?
What would you totally recommend?
What would you totally avoid?

Thanks for sharing with me! : )

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Your thoughts on... the origin of your blog name?

Hello loves! I came up with a question since I don't think I've had a "Your Thoughts On..." post in awhile. So, if you have one:

What is the origin of your blog name?
Did you choose it for a particular reason, or just whatever came to mind?
Do you still like your blog name, or do you want to change it?

Some of you may be wondering what the heck { e.motion in: motion; } means. I wrote about this briefly in my "about me" section, but nobody reads those things anyway :P

"emotion in motion" is just a phrase I happen to like. I feel like it adequately sums up my blog because I'm basically writing about anything and everything that I am passionate about... ergo, my emotions, in motion. Is that kinda lame? Lol.

You may also be wondering what is the point of all the { curly braces } 'n stuff. Well, that includes a little of my coding hobby. In this case, making use of elements of css. You can click on the link to read more in-depth about that if you want. There's also a "." separating the e from emotion because of course my name starts with an "E," so I figure I'd throw that in there for flair :P

Here's a quick tidbit from Wiki:
"A style sheet consists of a list of rules. Each rule or rule-set consists of one or more selectors and a declaration block. A declaration-block consists of a list of declarations in braces. Each declaration itself consists of a property, a colon (:), a value, then a semi-colon (;)."

...So therefore, my property is "e.motion in:" and the value is "motion;" And it kind of makes sense, if you think of it in that way, lol. Yes, I am a total nerd and I actually thought out this whole naming process thoroughly because I wanted it to reflect my blog and myself : ) And that's what's up with my blog name! So what about yours?

Care to share the origins of your blog name?

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Your thoughts on... Alternate Comment Form: IntenseDebate?

Hello everyone! So as you may have noticed by now, I am testing out an alternate comment form instead of the regular blogger comments; namely, IntenseDebate. After seeing other bloggers using this commenting system, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Now, I loved regular blogger comments because they are simple to input and easy to customize with css. However, the only thing that really bothered me was that there is no reply function! I'd either have to reply in my comments, or go to the commenter's blog and leave a comment. And by then, they may have no idea what I'm talking about! Or they might not check back to my comments and wonder why I never replied to them.

So that is the main reason why I wanted to try a new commenting system. IntenseDebate is excellent because I can easily reply to comments, but other aspects of it make me miss the old blogger comments. Here's a quick rundown of my main pros & cons:

PROS:

• Has a built-in reply function
• Commenters get replies sent to their email
• You get emails when you get new comments
• You can moderate comments w/ lots of options
• Customizable with css & other options
• Shows avatars
• Nice buttons

CONS:

• You cannot moderate IntenseDebate comments through Blogger itself
• The comment count of your posts when you go to "edit posts" does not show up
• It's not as easily customizable (for me, at least) as the regular blogger comments
• New commenters have to fill in the fields

Overall, I am liking the freedom to customize the look and feel of IntenseDebate comments, but the 2 biggest things that I don't like about it is that: 1) you can only moderate comments through IntenseDebate itself; not like how you can approve comments through blogger. So to see if I have new comments, I have to view my post and go to comments because I don't want to have to moderate comments through the IntenseDebate website.

And 2) IntenseDebate comments are not listed next to the blog posts when you go to "edit posts" which is inconvenient for me because I tend to go back to edit my posts and I like to be able to easily click on the "# comments" link and be taken directly to the comments.

With IntenseDebate, since the comments are no longer listed there, I need to view my blog, go to the post, and then click on comments. Maybe not that big of a deal to most people but to me, it matters -_-;

Overall though, it is an attractive and functional commenting system. Despite the little things, I like it. But I would like to know...

What do you think of IntenseDebate?

• Do you like this commenting form on my blog?
• Or did you prefer the regular blogger comments?
• Is it easy for you to use and leave comments?
• What do you like/not like about it?
• Would you use it?
  
  Your feedback is much appreciated : )
  
  

NOTD - UD "Meltdown" vs. ELF "Royal Purple" + Your thoughts on...

I mentioned in my recent post of swatches from my Urban Decay Apocalyptic nail kit that the shade "Meltdown" looked just like ELF's nail polish in "Royal purple." At the time, I thought this was pretty accurate, but I should have noted that I hadn't looked at the bottle of ELF since last year :P So Here is a better comparison.


The ELF Royal Purple is, well, purple. But it has a sliiight red undertone in real life.
The UD Meltdown is more of a true purple, and a bit darker.
(sorry it looks a bit blue-violet in the pictures, but it is purple in real life)

Meltdown is not as sheer as Gunmetal was, but I still did 2 coats anyway.
The ELF polish needs about 2-3 coats. It is thinner than Meltdown.
Both dry quickly to a high-shine finish!

In real life, the color difference is not as noticeable as in these pictures.
At a glance, they all look the same shiny purple!
You can only tell the difference if you look closely.


All in all, I think these are both equally gorgeous shades. ELF is not exactly a dupe like I previously thought, but it is still pretty! Just goes to show that even for $1, you can get great quality nail polish in awesome colors!

PS - When the hell did I get 297 followers?! Thank you all so much! :D

Which leads me to these questions:

What makes you follow a blog?
Or do you follow everyone?
What makes you want to keep reading?
What totally turns you off?

I would have to say that I will usually follow most people who follow my blog, as long as they don't ASK me to follow them. Does anyone else find that kind of... pushy?

I've heard a few stories of bloggers losing some of their followers, just because they didn't follow them back. I don't think that's very nice. No one should feel obligated to follow anyone else. But, if your blog is fascinating to me, I'd still follow anyway.

I like beauty blogs that have long, detailed, thorough, honest reviews, and lots of pictures. I like pictures. Lots of pictures. Swatches, FOTDS, EOTDS, NOTDS, you name it. Or just lots of pictures of the blogger. I like staring at hot girls while I surf the net. Now I sound like a stalker. Haha.

I also like bewbs (Alienman!). Now I sound even worse lol. I also like the occasional lengthy personal post, that lets readers know that the person behind the blog is, well, a real person! It's always nice to be able to identify on a certian level with other bloggers. That's why I like reading/doing tags. This is usually what makes me want to continue following/reading a blog -- if I can relate to the blogger, or I enjoy what they write about/the way they write about it and their "personality".

In all honesty, I tend to not read SUPER LONG SUPER PERSONAL posts (unless I "know" the blogger :P) because I feel like I'm reading something that's not my business. What are your thoughts?

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Your thoughts on... & Happy new year!

The Red Lip....
Can you rock it?!

My simple answer? No :(

I've always been a conservative nude/natural person; definitely not one for bold, dark lip colors -- especially RED. A few nights ago (sorry for bad lighting ^^;) I tried some red just for fun, so here's my take on it. Overall, I love the look/ideal of the classic red lip but I personally would never be confident enought to wear it in public. I think it's the most flattering on super pale skin... which I do not have.

For example, if I paired a red lip with neutral eyes, I'd feel underdone and clownish with too much attention attracted to my mouth :/ If I paired it with smokey eyes, I'd feel overdone and like a vampy hooker :S

Some "ew's, aah's, and okay's" for thought:



What's your take on the red lip look?
Is it something you'd wear often? Sometimes? Never? Do tell!

KISSES! It's the last day of 2009 for me here in Hawaii. It's still only 3:30 PM... but 2010, here I come!

***Happy New Year!***

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What's new with ELF

Here's a few Studio items ELF has popped out recently.

What do you think about them? Tried them? Would you try them? Avoid them like the plague? Do tell!

"The Silky formula melts into the skin for adjustable coverage. Apply alone or over foundation for a flawlessly smooth and natural-looking finish. The portable makeup compact and sponge is convenient for on-the-go touchups."

- - - Skeptical. I've heard a lot about their other powders being too orangey, cakey, etc. I assume the swatches are not very accurate either. Still, I think I'd give it a try, just to see.

"Transform your face into a flawless and smooth canvas with the mineral Infused Face Primer. Developed to combat excess oil, flaky dryness, enlarged pores and fine lines to result in a natural and youthful looking radiance. This clear multipurpose skin primer will prepare your skin so makeup goes on evenly for a lasting finish."

- - - Interested! I would definitely want to try this. It is double the price though ($6) and apparently, it's quite small in size; but a little goes a long way.

"Achieve longer lasting lip color and sexy plumped lips. The Primer creates a base for lip color for no budge, no smudge pigment that lasts all day. The cinnamon scented Plumper enhances your lips with a subtle plumping tingle effect for fuller, larger looking lips."

- - - Skeptical. When has a lip plumper ever REALLY plumped lips anyway? Not that I need it. If anything, I'm curious about the primer side.

"A portable loose powder sunscreen that can be worn alone or over any makeup for key sun protection. Shields against harmful UVA/UVB rays to prevent premature skin aging and sun damage. The soft translucent powder is infused with healthy ingredients such as Aloe Vera Extract, Grape Seed Extract and Vitamins A,C & e to help nourish and soothe the skin."

- - - Skeptical. Eh, the concept sounds nice, but I doubt its credibility. It says it contains those things in the description, but not on the ingredient list. Plus it contains Bismuth Oxychloride.

"Creates smooth lines that are defined and precise. Smudge-proof, budge-proof and water-resistant coverage for all day wear to combat against, sweat, tears and rain!"

- - - Skeptical. I would NOT buy this without hearing a rave review first! As with all ELF liner products that claim they will not smudge, I'm pretty sure this will smudge. Badly!

"Mineral Infused Mascara creates fuller, healthier looking lashes. It enhances lashes for a naturally thicker and more volumized look. The long-wear formula and unique silicone brush creates clump free and defined lashes that last all day."

- - - Skeptical. Only because I do not wear mascara and none of the mascars I've ever tried were any good anyway.

"Conceal acne spots, discoloration, under-eye darkness or any other place desired with this twist up concealer. The creamy lightweight texture blends evenly for a natural full coverage that lasts. Convenient for fast and effortless makeup touchups."

- - - Interested! I am always interested in concealer. The packaging is convenient and the concealer looks creamy and nice. But just because I said that, this product will probably suck balls. Hrm. Still interested though.

PS - I settled on the YSL Gloss Pur in Pure Rose! I hope I'm not disappointed!
PSS - "The Mister" has been demoted to "The Boytoy" until he stops buggin' the sh*t outta me.. or until my pills kick in. Whichever comes first =) So if you hear me start saying that, you know who I'm talkin bout (;

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