Earlier this year, I attended a department dinner in honor of a visiting speaker. One professor decided that the best topic on which to engage the graduate students near him was opera. He held forth about the various operas he’d seen recently in New York, and it turned out that quite a few of my… Read More Marc Jacobs Rei of Light and Bonus Super-Fun Class Anxiety
NYX expanded its matte lipstick line at the beginning of this year, adding some trendier colors to its extensive but mundane collection of reds, pinks, and nudes. The new shade that immediately caught my eye was Up the Bass, a medium purple with a large dose of gray. Because we were heading into spring at… Read More NYX Matte Lipstick in Up the Bass
I’ve struggled with eyeliner for my entire makeup-wearing career, which now spans six years. One of my first ventures into makeup involved a black Maybelline pencil eyeliner, with which I drew awkward, thick lines across my upper lashline. To my credit, I soon figured out that this looked terrible, but my second attempt wasn’t much… Read More I Guess I Wear Eyeliner Now: Urban Decay 24/7 in Demolition and Kiko Intense Colour in Black
I just finished The Scar, the second book in China Miéville’s Bas-Lag trilogy, which takes place in and around the diverse, sprawling, corrupt city of New Crobuzon. I love fiction about cities—not just set in them, but about them—and Miéville clearly shares my passion. The Scar centers on the linguist Bellis Coldwine, ex-girlfriend of the… Read More China Miéville Lipstick: NYX Velvet Matte in Midnight Muse
I thought I’d post more after returning from England, but instead I’ve spent most of my time agonizing over a dissertation chapter that I’m revising (well, basically rewriting). You know that feeling when you read over an unfinished piece of writing one too many times, and suddenly it seems to dissolve before your very eyes,… Read More Beauty Abroad, Part 20: Barry M Nail Paints in Butterscotch Sundae, Damson, and Vintage Violet
Seventeen is a British beauty brand that had never sparked my interest prior to last month’s UK trip. It doesn’t get much press in the blogosphere, probably because it’s exclusive to the drugstore giant Boots and so lacks a solid brand identity. Boots has two house beauty brands: the more famous and extensive Boots No.… Read More Beauty Abroad, Part 19: Seventeen Eyeshadow Mono in Statuesque
This is, what, the third purple lip color I’ve reviewed in the last month? Oh, well. I don’t think it’s possible to be a lipstick-loving k-pop fan without developing a curiosity about Korean lip tints. I’d had my eye out for a tint since last year, but most of the tints available in the US… Read More Too Cool for School Milk Tint in Milky Lavender
I own between fifty-five and sixty lipsticks, more than a few of them purple. It’s rare that a mainstream brand releases a lipstick unlike any I own, and even rarer that a mainstream brand releases a purple unlike any I own (yes, I’m using a lipstick junkie’s definition of “unlike,” but still). So when Bite… Read More Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Lavender Jam
I didn’t learn to swim until my first year of college and still can’t traverse more than two lengths of a pool without having to rest. Strictly speaking, I’m the last person who should be laying claim to sea witchery of any kind. But that’s the great thing about makeup: it allows us to put… Read More Sea Witchery with NYX Liquid Suede in Stone Fox
At this time two months ago, I had no firsthand knowledge of Glossier. I’ve now tried seven different Glossier products, at no cost to myself and with no affiliation with the brand, because I’m lucky and people are nice. I’ve already reviewed two of those products, Generation G in Jam and Boy Brow in Brown;… Read More Glossier Grab Bag: Generation G in Cake, Balm Dotcom, Face Mask Duo, and Priming Moisturizer
Auxiliary Beauty 