Apologies for deviating from my Lipstick Chronology schedule so soon after announcing it, but the last couple of weeks have been challenging. My grandmother passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly nine days ago, at the age of ninety-six. Between processing that shock and conducting a job search in a new field, I haven’t had a… Read More An Interlude
Product: Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick in Divine Wine Date Acquired: January or February 2020 Grade: A- My mother has strong opinions about my lipstick choices, and she’s not shy about sharing those opinions. She has expressed distaste for some of my favorite lip products, such as Pat McGrath Madame Greige (“washes you out,… Read More 2020 Lipstick Chronology #2: Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Divine Wine
Product: NARS Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita Date Purchased: January 4, 2020 Grade: B+ I started this blog in early 2014 with a series called Lipstick Chronology, in which I set out to review all of my lipsticks in chronological order of purchase, musing on the circumstances in which I bought them and the feelings… Read More 2020 Lipstick Chronology #1: NARS Sheer Lipstick in Dolce Vita (New Formula)
No, that’s not a typo in the title. I started this post intending to write a list of my favorite new beauty products of 2020, but soon got bogged down in a Carrie Bradshaw-esque question (“I couldn’t help but wonder”): what did it mean for a beauty product to be good, let alone a favorite,… Read More My 10 Most 2020 Beauty Products of 2020
Here, as promised (look at me, keeping a blog-related promise!), is my review of the second item from my recent ColourPop order: the Blur Lux Lipstick in Slow Dance. Early in 2019, ColourPop introduced sixteen shades of Blur Lux Lipstick, a “matte lipstick formulated with soft blurring pigments.” This semi-sheer formula was designed to replace… Read More ColourPop Blur Lux Lipstick in Slow Dance
Earlier this month, I placed my first ColourPop order in over a year. Like many longtime ColourPop customers, I’d grown tired of the brand’s constant new releases and discontinuations of older products. Last spring, I discovered my holy grail neutral eyeshadow: ColourPop’s Super Shock Shadow in Truth, a satin-finish beige. I wore it almost every… Read More ColourPop That’s Taupe Palette
Fenty Beauty, like Rituel de Fille, is a brand that I started following years ago but didn’t get around to trying until 2020. I always liked Fenty’s bold, exuberant aesthetic, but the releases never seemed to line up with my makeup habits. Fenty’s flagship products were an impressively inclusive range of foundation (I don’t wear… Read More Fenty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Blush in Strawberry Drip
In December 2017, I celebrated passing my dissertation defense by ordering Pat McGrath Labs’ LuxeTrance lipstick in Madame Greige, which remains one of my all-time favorite lipsticks. For the next two and a half years, though, I didn’t pay much attention to the brand. Its price point was just too high for me, and its… Read More Pat McGrath Labs Lip Fetish Balm in Noir
Rituel de Fille is a brand that I’ve been following, but not actually patronizing, since its launch in 2014. I have a vivid memory of sitting on a bench during a break from my dissertation seminar in Washington, D.C., and scrolling through the newly launched Rituel de Fille website. The brand’s aesthetic seemed designed for… Read More Rituel de Fille Color Nectar Pigment Balm in Bloodflower
In the pre-coronavirus days, I used to claim—and, I think, believe—that I wore makeup primarily for myself. Of course, it was nice to get a compliment on my lipstick or whatever, but for the most part, I wasn’t wearing makeup to look more professional or more attractive; I was wearing it because I liked mixing… Read More Beauty Lately
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