(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
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
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
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
When Urban Decay released the Naked Heat collection earlier this summer, the product that really tempted my resolve was not the Naked Heat palette itself but one of the two limited-edition 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils: Torch, a rusty orange. (Okay, the palette was also tempting, but slightly less so.) I swatched both eyeliners, as well… Read More NYX Faux Blacks Eyeliners in Blackberry and Burnt Sienna
Though I was skeptical of Urban Decay’s decision to pull its entire Revolution lipstick line last year and replace it with the even more extensive Vice line, I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom of that move. The lipsticks are now $5 cheaper ($17 vs. $22) and 0.6 grams larger (3.4 vs. 2.8); the bullets no… Read More Urban Decay Metallized Vice Lipstick in Amulet
The only makeup store close to where I live is an especially snobby Bluemercury, so when I visit my mom in San Francisco, I tend to spend more time than strictly necessary in Sephora and Ulta. During this particular visit, I was excited to check out the NYX Liquid Suede Metallic Matte lipsticks, which debuted… Read More NYX Modern Maven and a Liquid Suede Metallic Matte Anti-Haul
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
Glossier keeps coming up with new marketing strategies to put me off and new products to tempt me back in. No sooner had I planned a post on Glossier’s MLM-esque rep program than they released a fucking birthday-cake-scented lip balm with sparkles and holographic packaging. I have a price, and Glossier knows it. So this… Read More Glossier Birthday Balm Dotcom (Plus Another Rant)
My boyfriend recently left his job in the UK, which is great news relationship-wise: we met in my former graduate program and have been long-distance since I started my current program seven (!) years ago, and now we’ll actually be able to live together for more than a couple months at a time. On a… Read More Kiko Velvet Passion Matte Lipstick in 319 Chocolate
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