If there’s one thing I’ve learned from living in central New Jersey for the better part of a decade, it’s how to choose humidity-resistant makeup. (I would say “humidity-proof,” but nothing is truly humidity-proof except mosquitoes.) In a part of the world where the humidity index routinely hovers above 90% and occasionally creeps up to… Read More Making Up with 95% Humidity
Welcome to my annual roundup of my 15 favorite new-to-me beauty products of the past year! (Here are my lists for 2016, 2015, and 2014.) My 2017 can be summed up in this viral tumblr post: Because I had so little time for blogging in the second half of 2017, this post will double as… Read More My 15 Favorite Beauty Products of 2017
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
I was eight for most of 1996, but I remember that year quite well. In fact, I remember it as an especially good year in my young life. My parents and I had moved to San Francisco the year before, back when an assistant teacher and a busker at Ghirardelli Square could afford a nice… Read More Reverse Lipstick Chronology #3: Urban Decay Roach
Because it’s year-end-roundup season until January 31, damn it. I’m back online, so it’s time to present my favorite new-to-me beauty products of 2016! As always, I’ve listed these items in the order in which I bought them. I listed 14 favorites in 2014 and 15 in 2015, but 16 seemed excessive somehow, so I… Read More My 15 Favorite Beauty Products of 2016
After my disappointing experience with Lipstick Queen Black Lace Rabbit, I probably should have given up on finding my ideal sheer black lipstick. But I’m nothing if not perverse, so while I was in New York last month, I popped into the Upper West Side Sephora to do some fieldwork. The first sheer black I… Read More Sheer Black Lipsticks, Part 2: Estée Lauder, Givenchy, Urban Decay
It turns out that I have time for one more post before I head to New York tomorrow! A lot of new products entered my life in October, and though some of them were gifts, some were…definitely not. It’s not exactly shocking that I bought more stuff than usual last month. October tends to be… Read More Low-Buy Progress Report #10: October
A lot of stuff here! Let’s get into it: New Makeup/Polish: Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Creme in Rei of Light: $30 Studded X mini duo (Kat Von D Studded Kiss + Formula X) in Mercy: $7.50 NYX Velvet Matte Lipstick in Midnight Muse: gift from my mom NYX Jumbo Pencil in Black Bean: ditto… Read More Low-Buy Progress Report #8: August
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’ve been in three different time zones in the past week, and I feel weird. I originally planned to write this post two evenings ago while my skin absorbed the dewy coolness of a Tony Moly aloe sheet mask. Instead I fell asleep with the light on and my face unwashed. The same thing happened… Read More Bunches of Swatches
Auxiliary Beauty 