Odds are good that if you’re reading this, you fall into one of two categories: either you’ve already collected the 2015 Sephora birthday gift, or you don’t have access to Sephora and are annoyed to see the millionth review of the 2015 Sephora birthday gift pop up on your feed. In fact, I’m tempted to… Read More Because It’s Not 2016 Yet: NARS Mini Lip Pencils in Cruella and Rikugien
“A Journey Through Purge-atory” is my ongoing, if not exactly regular, destashing series; here are my first and second posts. Today, let’s get rid of some lipstick and polish! Lipsticks, left to right: YSL Glossy Stain in Rouge Gouache, Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Mauvy Night, Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Supermodel, Maybelline Colorsensational… Read More A Journey Through Purge-atory, Part 3: Lipsticks and Nail Polishes
When I first declared my no-buy three weeks ago, I predicted that my willpower would be tested severely. Instead, I immediately felt a sense of unaccustomed freedom. I’d grown used to thinking of my beauty purchases as stress relievers, but I hadn’t considered that they might actually be a source of stress. Every new purchase… Read More Thanksgiving Medley: No-Buy Update and 2016 Wishlist
Three weeks into my no-buy, I’m not feeling any great temptation to get something new, but I do find myself adding a worrisome number of items to my “buy in 2016” wishlist. In the interest of self-distraction, I think I’d better get back to reviewing the stuff I picked up during my stress-shopping phase in… Read More Stress-Fueled Impulse Purchase #5: Urban Decay Rapture Blush
All right, technically the NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in 413 BLKR has been around since Fall 2013. But it’s my standout lipstick acquisition of this fall, so there. I’ve had it for two weeks and have worn it on almost half those days. I can’t stop. It’s just too good. I forget how exactly I became… Read More The Official Lipstick of Fall 2015: NARS 413 BLKR
I don’t wear much red lipstick. Is that a strange admission for a lipstick addict to make? Red is the iconic lip color, the color that we all think of when we hear the word “lipstick,” yet it’s rare that I reach for a true red: I prefer my reds sheer or burnt or plummy.… Read More Stress-Fueled Impulse Purchase #4: Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in 69
I’m back, bitches! I have to submit a few more job and postdoc applications later this month, but most were due either Oct. 15 or Nov. 1, so I’ll be able to resume a regular blogging schedule in the weeks to come. I can’t properly articulate how good it feels to be done! (Well, sort… Read More Birthday Frolics, the Cloisters, and NYC Beauty Shopping
October has always been my favorite month. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, my love of seasonal makeup has a lot to do with my upbringing. My parents and I lived in Cambridge, MA, until I was seven, when we moved to San Francisco. I spent the next ten years pining for “real seasons,” especially… Read More FOTD: Autumn Leaves
2015 will certainly go down in makeup history as the year of the brown lipstick. Dark gothy brown, ’90s-style midtone warm brown, muddy red, and the strangest brown of all: a cool-toned gray-brown, often with a hint of purple. I don’t know why undead lips have become so wildly popular this year, but they’ve been… Read More Stress-Fueled Impulse Purchase #3: Topshop Matte Lipstick in Boardroom
(Apologies to Jenny Holzer, of course.) The stress of the job market has me feeling extra-acquisitive, as witness my latest impulse purchases: L-R: KBShimmer Open Toad Shoes, Zoya Fei Fei, Essie Leggy Legend, Milani Matte Fearless. But that’s not enough, oh no. I want still more, because when I’m trying to relax I tend to… Read More Protect Me from What I Want: Lipstick and Non-Lipstick Wishlists, Fall 2015
Auxiliary Beauty 