I still haven’t had a chance to take decent blog pictures in London, so here’s a beauty tag, taken from the lovely Teresa at Brush and Bullet! (I’m retaining the Commonwealth spelling of the questions because I’m in the Commonwealth as we speak. It’s only fair.)

ETA: I just realized that I forgot to copy and paste questions 17-30! I’ve been so distracted recently. Updated 9/13.

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?
It’s very wavy, but not quite curly.

2. What is your natural hair colour?
Dark brown with a few auburn highlights.

3. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?
I have virgin hair!

4. How often do you wash your hair?
Every day. My hair is quite fine, and it looks limp and greasy if I go more than 36 hours without washing it.

5. Do you wear the same style every day or change it?
At its current length, there’s not much I can do with it except leave it down! When it was longer (about chin-length), I’d occasionally pin it into an awkward “bun” (more bobby pin than hair), or twist part of it back and secure it with combs, like so:

In early college, I’d often put it in a half-hearted and -assed bun, using a scrunchie from the late ’90s:

I’ve cropped out my professor and classmates, but I wish I could also crop out my terrible posture and the astonishingly shitty Talbots blazer I was wearing. 2005 was kind to none of us, fashion-wise, but it was especially unkind to me.

6. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?
I always do my own: I’m possessive of my personal space and don’t like the thought of a stranger touching my hands or feet.

7. How often do you change your nail polish?
About twice a week.

8. Do you polish your toes in the winter, too, or just in the summer?
Why does this question take for granted that everyone polishes their toes in the summer? Anyway, I didn’t start giving myself pedicures until last year. I’m very self-conscious about my misshapen feet (courtesy of years of ballet, plus genetics), and I never wear sandals unless it’s oppressively hot. It took me a while to realize that painting my toenails was something I could do just for myself, so that I wouldn’t feel awful when I looked down at my feet. These days I try to keep my toes polished year-round, but I definitely slack off in the cold months.

9. How long does it take to put on your makeup?
About ten minutes.

10. What do you do first? Face or eyes?
In order: moisturizer, sunscreen, concealer, eye makeup, blush, lip color.

11. Do you “collect” makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?
Depends on the kind of product. I find mascara totally uninteresting and never have more than one bottle at a time, but I’m a die-hard lipstick collector. Blushes and eyeshadows fall somewhere in the middle. In general, though, I’m more of a collector than an as-needed replacer. I mean, duh: I have a beauty blog.

12. How often do you wear false eyelashes?
I’ve never worn them, with the exception of a pair of silver tinsel eyelashes I bought one Halloween. As I recall, I couldn’t get them to stick to my lids longer than five minutes, but for those five minutes I looked awesome. I’d like to try lash-colored false lashes one of these days, but I really have nowhere to wear them.

13. Do you do a full face of makeup every day?
I’ve never been sure what the phrase “full face of makeup” means. If it means “foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer, five shades of eyeshadow, two eyeliners, lip liner, lipstick, and gloss,” then I never do a full face. If it means “the greatest amount of makeup I ever wear,” then I do a full face almost every day: concealer, eyeshadow (usually one neutral shade all over the lid), mascara, understated blush, and lip color. I often forget to put on mascara, though; see 11. It’s just. so. boring.

14. Do you wear makeup when you are home alone (or with family)?
When I’m home alone, I almost never wear makeup, though I sometimes like to slap on a crazy color of lipstick for fun. When I’m with family, it depends: I won’t put on makeup specifically for them, but I will if I’m doing something else later.

15. Will you leave the house without makeup?
If I’m running an errand or going to work out, the most I’ll put on is a neutral lip color (I always wear sunscreen, though). But honestly, I wish I were more comfortable going out with a bare face. I don’t hate the way I look without makeup, but the ritual of applying it is so important to me that when I do skip it, I feel like I’m missing out. Leaving the house is an occasion! I need to celebrate it! (I also need to get a life, apparently.)

16. How many high-end products do you have?
Assuming that “high-end” means non-drugstore (e.g. MAC, NARS) and not just prestige/designer, I have about 20.

17. How often do you wash your makeup brushes?
I wash my eyeshadow and blush brushes every couple of weeks, and my lip brush as often as I use it, so a few times a month.

18. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you are getting dressed?
There’s not much to plan, as I have a uniform from which I rarely deviate: v-neck t-shirt, blazer, dark skinny jeans, and black flats. In the summer I lose the blazer and replace the jeans with one of four pairs of J. Crew shorts.

19. How often do you change your handbag?
I don’t own a real handbag. Since I have to carry my laptop and books so often, I just use a black canvas tote bag from the Strand; for fancy occasions, I switch to a small black Kate Spade purse (with polka-dot lining!) that I’ve had for two years.

20. What time do you get up and go to sleep?
I usually go to bed around 11 and wake up between 7 and 7:30. When evening rolls around, I become practically narcoleptic–I often pass out in my clothes with all the lights on and sleep through the night.

21. How often and when do you work out?
When I’m at home, I make it to the university gym two or three times in a good week, and I take a yoga class every Saturday.

22. Left-handed or right-handed?
Right-handed.

23. How tall are you?
Just under 5’6″, but I like to round up.

24. Do you speak a foreign language?
Yes, I studied Japanese for nine years. I haven’t had a conversation in Japanese since college, but I think I could still get by if I visited Japan. I also read Latin, but I’d never attempt to speak it.

25. How many pets do you have?
None, unfortunately. All three of the animals that I considered my pets (my childhood cat, my father’s and stepmother’s cat, my boyfriend’s dog) have died in the last two years. I’d love to adopt a cat or dog, but I’m not in a situation that allows me to have a pet right now.

26. How often are you on Blogger?
If this means writing posts, I try to post every three days, though life often gets in the way. If it means reading other people’s blogs, maybe 45 minutes a day, give or take.

27. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?
Yes, on Pinterest, though it’s not a full list–I’m a little ashamed of revealing to the world the number of products I want to try. I should really just keep a list in a Word document or something, but I never think to do that.

28. How did you come up with your blog name?
“Auxiliary beauty” is a 17th-century slang term for “makeup.” I found it in a dictionary of London thieves’ slang from 1699.

29. What kind of camera do you use for photographs?
iPhone 5.

30. What is your favorite beauty/fashion magazine?
I don’t read a lot of magazines, though I like buying Elle before I take a flight, and I try to pick up the Sunday Times every time the fashion issue of T magazine comes out. I’ve been a fan of Chandler Burr’s perfume reviews since high school.

And that’s that! Posts might be sparse for a while, since I’m doing a lot of sightseeing and article revision, but I’ll do my best to update. I miss my regular blogging schedule!