Categories

You can browse the entire FAQ by scrolling through, or you can click on the individual topics, as listed below, if you are looking for something more specific.

About

• Founder
• Images/Photos
• Temptalia

Basics (Knowledge/Tips)

• Makeup
• Products
• Skincare
• Technique
• Travel

Founder

Do you have any siblings?
Yes, I have a younger sister!

Do you wear contacts/glasses?
I do not wear contacts but wear glasses at times.

How do you maintain your brows?
I tweeze, though I have done threading a few times in the past, which definitely helped define and shape them. I fill them in with MAC Espresso eyeshadow using MAC’s 266 angled brush.

How do you stay organized?
I just keep a to-do list for the week and list about 5-10 things I’d like to get done each day (sometimes an item is like 4-6 posts, so I will lump them into one item on the list!). I also spend longer chunks of time doing similar tasks — e.g. I spend my weekends doing the majority of my school work, so I can work more during the week on the blog (and attend school).

How old are you?
I am 26 years old.

What do you do with makeup after you review it?
It depends on the item. I keep some for future use (often to have for potential dupes) but not all. When I don’t have a reason to keep it, I donate many products to a local organization that distributes them to victims of domestic violence and volunteers that help on behalf of those victims.

What is your ethnicity?
I’m half Vietnamese, quarter Swiss, and quarter German.

What is your skin tone?
I have a medium skin tone with warm undertones. I am NC25/NC30 in MAC foundations; Punjab in NARS foundations, #03 in Burberry foundations, Medium in Kiehl’s/Korres Tinted Moisturizers.

When is your birthday?
September 28th.

Where did you go to college? What did you major in?
I attended University of California, Irvine. I received a B.A. in Economics and second B.A. in Political Science.

Where did you go to graduate school? What program are you in?
I attended Santa Clara University. I received a JD (law degree) and MBA.

Who is Mellan? Where did you come up with his name? What kind of dog is he? How old is he?
Mellan is my 5-year-old yellow labrador retriever. Mellan is actually short for Magellan, so he is actually named after the explorer.

Why don’t you wear eyeliner on your upper lash line?
The area between my upper lashes is very, very sensitive. I’ve tried over 30 different products and various techniques that it appears it’s simply aggravation of the area – so it’s not a specific product, but just the bristles of a brush getting between the lashes. A severe reaction would be a swollen eye with some redness and dryness. A lesser reaction would just be dryness.

Will you ever hold a blog sale?
No, I will not. I receive product samples from brands for consideration to review, and it would be unethical to sell those products. Instead, I prefer to donate to local organizations.

Images/Photos

Are lip swatches applied using a brush? With lip liner?
All lip swatches are applied out of the tube and never with a lip liner. My philosophy is that you should see the color for exactly what it is, and I think lip liner could minimize or hide whether a shade bleeds, feathers, etc.  Similarly, I don’t prep lips with balm or primer.  Depending on the frequency I’ve been swatching lip products, I may exfoliate with a wash cloth or sugar scrub a few hours prior to holding a “session!”

Can I use your images?
Promotional imagery, which are photos provided by brands themselves and not photos that Temptalia has taken, are allowed to be reposted as long as there is a link back to Temptalia. Photos that Temptalia have taken require written permission and you should use the contact us form to obtain it.

What camera do you use?
Nikon D3s. I use various lenses, such as the 35mm, 50mm, 60mm, 80mm, 105mm, but I primarily use the 60mm, which is a macro lens.

What video camera do you use?
I use a Canon Vixia HF S100.

Temptalia

How do you cope with negative/rude comments?
Fortunately, you just learn to and get over it. You really do toughen up. Unfortunately, you have to learn to take them, forget them, and move on.  Surround yourself with supportive people in your “real life” to help be there when a comment is hurtful or upsets you (whether that’s anger or tears!).  As long as you know you’re doing your best, you should be happy with what you’re doing.

If a reader sees you at the mall (or wherever!), what should we do? Should we say hi, wave? Not say anything?
Definitely come over and say hi! I always love to meet readers!

When did Temptalia begin? How did Temptalia begin?
Temptalia, as a blog, first began in October 2006. It began as a way to archive my daily looks for others to refer back to. Next to come were in-depth MAC Cosmetics Collection reviews. Today, Temptalia is still well-known for its in-depth analysis and evaluations of the latest MAC collections. Eventually, the blog content grew and opened itself up to both MAC and non-MAC brands alike as well as including tutorials, how-tos, and beauty-related articles.

Who is Temptalia? What does Temptalia mean?
Temptalia was founded and continues to be written, edited, etc. by Christine Mielke, aka me. The one you see in photos, that’s me! If you see an arm, that’s me. If you see a set of nails, that’s me! Unless otherwise noted, various body parts for swatching purposes, eyes, lips, or full face photos are all of me and my beauty battle-tested body, ha! Temptalia is a made-up word (by me! when I was like sixteen!) that is supposed to mean the perfect woman–she’s smart, sexy, confident, and totally amazing.

Makeup

Do you need to set tinted moisturizer with powder?
I find it does help with the wear, so I consider it necessary!

How can I keep my makeup looking fresh all day long?
You can wear your makeup in layers, which means using a face primer, foundation, and setting powder. You may also want to go for cream or gel blush over powder. You can also use a touch-up powder like blot or pressed powder to keep your face fresher.

How can I make my eyeliner last all day long?
First, ensure you are using a quality eyeliner (which by no means has to be expensive). Some tricks are to apply it just before the outer corner, so that it doesn’t seep into the outer corners and pull away from the lid; set with a similar-colored powder; and set with products like Benefit’s She Laq or Make Up For Ever’s eye Seal.

How can I make my eyes look bigger?
Try lining your lower waterline/lashline with a nude or champagne eyeliner. Also consider lining only the outer half of your upper and/or lower lash line.

How can I wear blush if my cheeks are already pink/red?
Try wearing a peachy blush, which can help to neutralize some of the pink/red!

How do I wear eye makeup with glasses?
Put on your glasses on while you’re applying your makeup so you can see how it is looking – that way you can bring up the crease, darken, etc. as you go! Curl lashes, too!

How do you apply tinted moisturizer?
Usually, I just use my fingers to apply, similar to how you would apply your moisturizer.

How do you sanitize makeup?
You can use products like BeautySoClean or try to do it yourself. You can dip products like lipstick into rubbing alcohol to disinfect them. You can spray the top of powder products with rubbing alcohol and wipe off the top layer with a paper towel or cloth.

How often should I clean my brushes?
I recommend spot-cleaning (which is when you use a fast-drying cleanser–anything alcohol-based tends to be–and gently wipe the brush on a paper towel) very regular and more thorough cleanings at least once a week. I personally wash whatever brushes I use after I use them. If you use really pigmented shades with light or white-colored brushes, I recommend washing immediately to avoid staining. If you suffer from acne, consider washing your face brushes after each use or every other use.

What are your beauty tips for wearing makeup in warm/humid climates?
Waterproof, long-wearing, all-day are all words you want to look for. You’ll probably want to wear less rather than more, especially when it comes to foundation. Consider a tinted moisturizer, perhaps a gel/cream blush, and then everything with powder.

Products

Is there a difference between pigments and loose eyeshadows?
It just depends on the brand – they’re really the same thing, since both are, essentially, loose eyeshadow. However, some companies that market pigments do so with the intention of making them multi-tasking products — not just eyeshadow.

When do you throw away makeup?
The guidelines can be all over the place, but many brands have started to put how many months a product can be used (the clock starts ticking once you open/use) on the packaging, so you can check there. I toss out products when they smell differently (think plastic/crayon smells), change color or consistency, or otherwise seem like they’ve “turned.”

Skincare

How can I get rid of acne?
The first place to start is to evaluate what are you doing to your skin now: do you have a good skincare regimen in place? You want to make sure you use the appropriate cleansers, moisturizers, exfoliators, etc. for your skin type. One common mistake people make is over-exfoliating; exfoliating two to three times a week is usually sufficient. If your acne is troublesome, persists, or makes you uncomfortable, consider seeing a dermatologist or consulting with your primary care doctor for topical treatments like Differin.

What is a facial serum? What does it do and how does it differ from a moisturizer?
Serums are concentrated/targeted treatments. They are typically more potent than any ingredients found in a moisturizer. Serums can range from anti-aging to acne to moisturizing. Generally, you would use a serum and then apply your moisturizer over it not instead of.

What order should I apply my skincare?
Cleanse, toner, sunscreen, moisturizer, primer!

When do you apply serums?
First!

Technique

How can I get a better curl for my lashes?
Waterproof mascara seems to hold a curl better (which is more for future reference!), but you could also try heating your eyelash curler up (not a lot – a couple seconds under a blow dryer).

How do I prevent lip products from settling into lip lines?
The best would be to try a lip liner or line filler; the lip liner will give it more to adhere to, while a filler will temporarily plump up the lines in the lips to reduce them and make them less noticeable.

How do you deal with facial hair?
I use Eve Pearl’s Razor for my upper lip and the like (since I take macro photos, everything is so noticeable, so I try to do what I can), just because I need to do it often and find that a cream remover or wax removal would be too much for my skin.

How do you keep your lips in tip-top shape?
I try to exfoliate two to three times a week, which may sometimes be just sitting down and doing several lip swatches (because the removal part is enough to exfoliate if you do it a few times!), along with always putting balm on if I’m not wearing lipstick/lipgloss.

How do you paint your nails?
I did a YouTube video showing I do it!

What are good foundations, concealers, and setting powders for photographs?
You want to avoid SPF ingredients – like titanium dioxide. I like MUFE HD, Guerlain Parure Gold, and MAC Face & Body for foundation. I’ve never had issues with concealers, but I tend to use theBalm TimeBalm or Eve Pearl Salmon Concealer. For powder, MUFE HD, MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder, or Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powders have all worked for me!

What order should I apply my makeup?
It’s totally up to you! It is often better to apply eye makeup first, because any fall out can be cleaned up before you apply your face makeup. Blush typically goes on after foundation, but gel/cream blushes may be better underneath. I like to lips last, so that I can powder my face without getting powder in my lipgloss.

When do you apply concealer? Before or after foundation?
I think the rule is before, but I’ve done it both ways and haven’t found a preference yet. No harm in trying!

Why do I look washed out in my photos?
It is likely because your foundation (or moisturizer/primer) had SPF in it. Many SPF products will reflect light back, which is why you looked washed out!

Travel

What would you take with you for a week-long vacation? How do you pare your list down?
I would bring 2-3 eye brushes, blush/foundation/loose powder brushes, and then maybe one or two other ones. I would pack 1-2 palettes (or quads, or a 15-pan MAC palette), along with 3-4 lipsticks and 3-4 lipglasses. I try to plan out at least a couple of looks in advance (just a “big picture” look, nothing too specific), so I don’t pack everything!

Foundation

How do I know what undertone I am?
Look at the underside of your forearm; if your veins are green, you most likely have warm undertones that are yellow; if your veins are blue, then you most likely have cool undertones and have pink undertones.

What are good contouring products?
Benefit Hoola, MAC Sculpt, NYX Taupe.

What do you recommend for foundation/concealer for someone who struggles with acne?
Go for light to medium coverage on the foundation, and then use a medium coverage concealer – the idea being you only add coverage where you need it. Look for creamier products, as more matte finishes can cake on active acne or healing acne.