When I first got into makeup, in the early 2010s, blush was an afterthought in the Western beauty community. Everyone had a couple of blushes, generally a warm pink and a cool pink, but beauty bloggers often fretted about the prospect of looking tacky or clownish or old-ladyish (never mind the ageism and internalized misogyny… Read More The Great Blush Inventory of 2021
It’s year-end-roundup time once again! I found it harder to compile a best-of list in 2018 than I did in 2017, which suggests that I got better at avoiding impulse buys and zeroing in on products that suited my tastes and needs. (I’ll eventually get around to writing a snarky worst-of-2018 post, but it will… Read More My 15 Favorite Beauty Products of 2018
(I started writing this as an Instagram post, but I can type only so much text with my thumbs on a tiny keyboard before I have to move to the laptop. I’m old.) The end of the year has awakened the destashing impulse in quite a few makeup people I follow online. It makes sense:… Read More Last Destash of 2018
It will surprise none of my regular readers to learn that if I could wear only one category of makeup for the rest of my life, it would be lipstick. (I could probably use nude lipstick as undereye concealer, right?…right?) I wear lipstick every single day. I’ve tried almost every color category of lipstick. I… Read More Lip Liner: An Overdue Appreciation
Destashing makeup is emotionally hard for me year-round, but it becomes a little easier in the spring, as do most things. The lengthening days bring a new zest for self-improvement: I exercise more, I consume less sugar and alcohol, and I grow more decisive about streamlining my makeup collection. I recently decided to destash eight… Read More Spring Lipstick Destash
Since the beginning of 2017, I’ve maintained a lipstick inventory, noting how often I wear each of my lipsticks, which ones are new to me, which I’ve destashed or finished, etc. Some people use a spreadsheet, but I prefer the humble Word document. As you can see, I place an asterisk next to a lipstick… Read More Lipstick Megapost: Inventory, Pans, and Last Destash of 2017
Since my last post, I’ve crossed a few thresholds: the autumnal equinox, my 30th birthday, and my dissertation deadline. (For the record, 30 feels exactly like 29, and I was so busy in the weeks leading up to my birthday that I didn’t even have time to freak out over becoming an Old.) Now that… Read More Lipstick Project Pan Update #1
After three and a half years (!) of beauty blogging, I’ve learned which panning projects work for me and which are guaranteed to fail. I can usually push myself to finish a piece of makeup if three conditions apply: It’s a cream product (usually a lipstick) I like it enough that I’ve already used up… Read More Lipstick Project Pan, Fall 2017
I don’t know about you, but I find it much easier to destash makeup when I’m in a foul mood. The angrier I feel at the world, the more readily I can accept that a certain lipstick will never work for me and doesn’t deserve a place on my shelf. In that spirit, I’m removing… Read More First Lipstick Inventory and Destash of 2017
I returned last night from the academic job conference and felt so drained today that I didn’t leave the house once, which almost never happens unless I’m sick. (Today’s high temperature was about 12°F, too. That was definitely a factor in my laziness.) Now that I have some more time, I’m looking forward to writing… Read More 2017 Low-Buy Plan and Beauty Resolutions
Auxiliary Beauty 