The various worlds of Valerie Ottaviano!

Since last year I realized I was more likely to post fast & reach a larger audience if I posted on a Facebook page. That's the primary playground of EyeSpyIBuy now !!! Velocity Design LA is the new business I started that offers freelance textile construction , color & trend presentation services. Velocity Design LA 2222 Nottingham Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027 213 280 6809 Email is Vodznr@ roadrunner.com Velocitydesignla.com (is under construction!)

Primed to Perfection

I'm just saying sometimes you just can't take these Product and Place public reviews to seriously ! If you read the press on Hourglass Mineral Primer you wouldn't go a hundred feet from Sephora . Well im here to tell you whomever developed this deserves a Nobel Prize. If your interested at keeping shine at bay this year, get this product as soon as you can. It has spf ,its totally oil free and it does everything its press says it will. You can get it at Amazon , it goes to other beauty sites, but you can still buy with one click, and you know how much i love the one -click. The wonderful thing about buying it at Amazon is i was able to score a smaller size at less than 20.00. Ok when i said it was fabulous , i didn't say it was cheap ! This little bottle of wonder is in the range of a moderate pair of shoes, but it will keep shine at bay ! The reviews for this product and its sister foundation all rake them over the coals for the pumps, and believe me when you pay 60.00 for a treatment product,you expect the damn pump to work , I get that , but we also need to get a little more inventive and try unscrewing the caps !. This revision for PUMP defects is apparently what is keeping the foundation out of stock at all Sephora's , however i was able to go in and see the colors, and get a sample. Its as good or possibly better than the veil cause its all rolled into one . The funny thing is that from reading the reviews you would think once the pump had problems the bottle would have to be ditched , it was just the silliest thing when the saleswoman just uncapped the bottle ! In my research for tinted SPF 's and mattifier foundations with SPF, Hourglass is coming in first . I did also sample the very highly touted Tarte Amazon clay foundation but im sorry there are no names of the colors on the bottles. I frankly think that's insane , you have to try and select the correct package from the way the foundation looks in the display bottle thru a blank leaf shape. I did like it but i can't recommend it because that is just plain stupid ! What else have i bought ? Well Peter Thomas Roth makeupless 30 SPF ( honestly i think this brand is really for men, i don't know why i get that feeling i just do !) This Spf has color, but almost like " here guys, you'll look better" but we won't say " makeup" . Could just be me ...whatever . NYX stay Matte but not Flat powder foundation , always a huge favorite brand for me. Last weekend in Palm Desert found an Ulta that had the complete line, it was frankly better than Coachella ! I was just looking at my makeup drawer thinking I have to to much makeup and then like my mentor Rev Run says I changed my thinking ..... I don't have to much makeup , I just need a bigger drawer ! Spring is here and Summer is around the corner, so run out and get some new SPF and show the world you can be protected and FABULOUS !!!!!!

How much do I love birch box ?

It's like Christmas once a month! Birch box is a service where a surprise package of curated cosmetics arrives in your mailbox for 10.00.
It's just so much fun to come home after a long day and find small treats of lipgloss and perfume!
Go treat yourself and sign up , you can even do it just once , no heavy commitments. If I could do one a week I'd be in ! It beats a combo Meal and helps me look a lot better !

Notorious Nails

You all know how i love the beauty products ! I can honestly say i knew more about Gel nails before at least half of the nail salons on the East Side of Los Angeles and Pasadena for more than a year.Finally they have gotten with the program but the idea of doing it at home is pretty cool. I've been saying for about 2 years now , if the nail polish industry takes this on it will put a big dent in salon visits !
Well friends Nutra Nail Gel Perfect is here ! Its UV light free so that is a huge plus.

Over the summer i figured since i knew so much more and was so critical of the techniques used at various salons around my neighborhood, that i bought an entire set up for myself. I have the full on light, the brushes, several gel kits,etc but it isn't easy and i found dragging the light out and setting up was a drag. I didn't click with it and i didn't really care for my own results.
Also no matter what they say it does weaken and wreck your natural nails, granted nothing like the aching damage of acrylics but its not the innocent product they claim either. No matter ,you have to suffer a bit to be fabulous so deal!

The nail kit relegated to the back of the closet i figured gels at the salon were what i would get when i felt like returning to them, however i read about the Nutra Nail Gel-Color a couple of weeks ago. The online product reviews were mixed, and i had tried there plain gel kit several times to really mixed to disappointing results. The old kit is basically superglue to strengthen, and it does shine but it also chips off in huge chunks. I was not impressed but its been a few years and i figured with new chemical innovations maybe it would be better .

I meant to get it on line but good thing i didn't my local ( and not known for being so well stocked ) CVS has a huge display yesterday, end cap and everything ! Already cleared out of many colors, but they had Flame which is a really great red.

So dear readers I'm typing away 5 minutes after application and i have to say its fabulous ! Don't know if it will last, but it went on super easy, in 2 coats its got great coverage, its shiny and awesome.
You'll have to wait for the update on wear but so far I'd say go out and try it its less trouble than even polishing your nails at home !

manic panic love

There are Hair Dyes and then there's the gold standard Manic Panic. I always start out with the Splat dye kit because it has the bleach pack included plus a great blue dye but for the up keep Manic Panic Rules.

Nothing says summer like packing on the blue , doing some chores and then washing the dye out right over the lawn. I can say this I've been doing that for about 3 years now and no grass has been killed in the process.

Expensive and Stinky

Fresh may have made a mark with great smelling products ( a la' the brown sugar series of scrubs, creams even lip items) but the Soy Face Cleanser must rank as the worst smelling most expensive cleanser in the universe. Not to mention the rank awful weird look of the product. I went in to get the charcoal series was talked out of what i wanted , ended up with this stinky mess !

Don't waste your money on the Soy Face Cleanser, gentle on the face and eyes it maybe but on the nose ........you couldn't find any harsher !

Is there anything worth buying this Spring?

I can't say enough good things about the Makeup For Ever HD foundation ! I know they are pushing it with ads that seem pretty fake " the first foundation ad not using any photo touch ups" but I'm sold.

I went to Sephora to get primarily the almost plastic looking orange lip gloss in their ads ( sephora's ad mind you) and once again met with the blank stares from the clerk that had NO idea what i was talking about. I said to her I knew i should have brought it in, its orange, its the only image in the Sephora ad in Allure/Vogue/ In Style, more blankness. In fact the last blank face read like " an Ad " what's that? You would think that a corporate machine as large as Sephora might just post their ads next to the time clock or staple a tear sheet to the paychecks, i mean come on , i expect that at Macy's but at Sephora,,,,,,,i was disgusted , and once again wondered why i didn't make a career out of my love for cosmetics.

But i digress, go get Make Up For Ever anything and everything. Yes, its expensive but there isn't a powder, foundation or lipstick that isn't worth it. I love the liners , eyeshadow too, but you all know you can replicate those items..(i actually put some crazy liners back and swapped Sephora Brands for some that day) but when it comes to foundation, money does seem to make a difference.

I am totally in love with this line, so go to Sephora and play in its section, but don't ask about the orange gloss, not even when i returned with the Ad could anyone say for sure which it was. So if you get anyone's ear, tell them they should have little signs that say , this one , this one right here,,,,yes this is the one in the Ad !