Happy Lunar New Year! January 22 marked the start of the Year of the Rabbit, which happens to be my own zodiac animal. (Yes, that means I’m nine months away from turning thirty-six, the age at which I’ve always assumed I’ll have all my shit figured out, though that seems increasingly unlikely.) I realize that… Read More MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in Ruby Woo: The Ultimate Red?
This is the first post in a series of three. In each post, I’ll wear a supposedly indelible liquid lipstick throughout a day of teaching and track its performance under a New York Times-approved double mask: a surgical mask, ear loops tightened and ends tucked in, with a cloth mask on top. The second post… Read More In Search of Maskproof Lipstick, Part 1: YSL Tatouage Couture in Crimson Rivals
This week I’m diverging from the 2020 Lipstick Chronology in order to review my first new lipstick of 2021: NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Red Square! I spent much of my January no-buy scouring the web for a replacement for Topshop Matte Lipstick in Rio Rio, which I bought and reviewed back in June… Read More A Red for Citrus Season: NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Red Square
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
Welcome to my first makeup review of 2019! Unfortunately, it’s a review of a sold-out limited-edition product, but I just had to show you all the pretty photos I took of it. I mean, I ventured out after a blizzard for this one: In the past few years, Western beauty brands have begun catering to… Read More MAC Lotus Light (Lucky Red Collection)
Inspired by Renee’s recent post on her upcoming yearlong no-buy, I’ve been thinking about how to reduce my own beauty consumption in 2019. I was particularly struck by Renee’s observation that her “interests are varied, but the blog is relatively linear–how might that change if I created more of the kind of content I really… Read More Thanksgiving Red: ColourPop Lux Lipstick in Liquid Courage
Needless to say, I wasn’t feeling particularly celebratory or patriotic this Independence Day, but I also wasn’t going to miss the chance to wear blue highlighter and metallic red lipstick at the same time. I thought I’d use this FOTD post to write a quick review of a product I bought back in November: ColourPop… Read More Reverse Lipstick Chronology #4: ColourPop Lippie Stix in Let’s Play
Drugstore makeup has become a lot more interesting over the past few years, and I can’t help but envy people who are just getting into makeup now and have access to so many weird lipsticks at affordable price points. I’ve always been drawn to slightly eccentric makeup, but in my early twenties it was impossible… Read More Reverse Lipstick Chronology #2: Maybelline Smoking Red
I never paid much attention to Wet n Wild until recently. They’ve truly stepped up their game in the past couple of years, and perhaps the best evidence for that is their new line of “Liquid Catsuit” lipsticks ($4.99 each). By the time Wet n Wild got around to creating liquid matte lipsticks, every sane… Read More Drugstore Liquid Lipsticks, Part 2: Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit Lipsticks in Nudist Peach and Missy and Fierce
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
Auxiliary Beauty 