Happy New Year, friends! It’s 0°F outside (that’s -18°C), so we are STAYING PUT. But I’m still wearing glitter and sequins, because 2017 only dies once. And we made prosecco-raspberry jello shots and put them in French 75s. I’m still planning a post about my lipstick inventory, but before 2017 ends, let me write up… Read More Beauty Resolutions for 2018
Welcome to my annual roundup of my 15 favorite new-to-me beauty products of the past year! (Here are my lists for 2016, 2015, and 2014.) My 2017 can be summed up in this viral tumblr post: Because I had so little time for blogging in the second half of 2017, this post will double as… Read More My 15 Favorite Beauty Products of 2017
(Settle in. This will be a long post.) First, some personal news: I defended my doctoral dissertation earlier this month and now have a Ph.D. in English! At my university, the dissertation defense (our official term, hilariously, is “Final Public Oral”) is a pretty lowkey affair. It consists of a 30-minute presentation and another 30… Read More Pat McGrath Labs LuxeTrance Lipstick in Madame Greige
In my personal taxonomy, most makeup falls into one of four categories: 1) products that I collect actively (lipstick, eyeshadow, nail polish); 2) products that I own in limited numbers because I use them very slowly and/or don’t find them exciting (blush, highlighter, eyeliner); 3) products that I wear regularly but purchase only when I… Read More Gambles with Gloss: NYX Gingersnap and Revlon Rosy Future
Earlier this year, as I sat watching a YouTube makeup video—a review of some gimmicky product, maybe Farsali Unicorn Oil or Ciaté Glitter Flip lipsticks—my boyfriend walked past and wondered, “Do you actually buy anything you see on YouTube?” With some pride, I said no. I’m generally immune to YouTube hype, since most influencers gravitate… Read More YouTube Made Me Buy It: Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighter in Precious Petals
Since my last post, I’ve crossed a few thresholds: the autumnal equinox, my 30th birthday, and my dissertation deadline. (For the record, 30 feels exactly like 29, and I was so busy in the weeks leading up to my birthday that I didn’t even have time to freak out over becoming an Old.) Now that… Read More Lipstick Project Pan Update #1
Let’s talk about ColourPop for a second. I shared my first impressions almost three years ago, back when online-only brands that used a fast-fashion production model were rare enough to seem sinister. These days, though, I feel more blasé about that aspect of ColourPop’s identity. Yes, it’s a bit sad that online-only brands with accelerated… Read More ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in So Quiche
After three and a half years (!) of beauty blogging, I’ve learned which panning projects work for me and which are guaranteed to fail. I can usually push myself to finish a piece of makeup if three conditions apply: It’s a cream product (usually a lipstick) I like it enough that I’ve already used up… Read More Lipstick Project Pan, Fall 2017
I am not a serial depotter of beauty products. I admire people with a more utilitarian approach to makeup, people for whom packaging means little to nothing. But I’m not one of those people, and I probably never will be. I don’t insist on the fanciest, most elaborate compacts and tubes: MAC lipsticks are some… Read More Topshop Otherworldly Part 2: EXTREME MELTDOWN
One of the less charming aspects of being an American millennial in 2017 is getting called a “special snowflake” by old bigots on the internet. From my occasional perusal of right-wing Twitter accounts (I discovered last year that my mild-mannered undergrad Shakespeare professor is an alt-right conspiracy theorist, and I’m still not over it), I… Read More A Highlighter for Special Snowflakes: Topshop Glow Stick in Otherworldly
Auxiliary Beauty 