Chatter

Sephora Beauty Insider Marketing Emails

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Lighting in Sephora

I planned to schedule a repost today, but I have a quick blurb I can share about Sephora Beauty Insider marketing emails.

Today, I received a run-of-the-mill message from Sephora reminding me that have Beauty Insider points to blow. Okay, fair, #justnormalthings.

The subject line, however, read:

679 points means limitless opportunities.

Limitless? Does it? I think by ascribing a value to it it is literally, by its very nature, limited. I don’t just get to walk into Sephora and demand a free Pat McGrath palette with my whopping 679 points. I can’t even get the Guerlain Power of the Orchid 750 point perk with my 679 points.

Sephora, what the hell. I understand you’re trying to entice me to try things and, subsequently, spend money (such is the nature of a marketing group), but come on. Don’t use silly language that is filled with holes to do so.

Contouring: An Observation

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift! Content has been edited for clarity and readability, but opinions are the same. Recent additions are noted in-line. Enjoy!

If I had to name a single beauty trend for 2015, I’d say it was contouring. (2018 Update: Agree with this assessment of the time. In 2018, people are still contouring a good bit, but it seems like the frothing-at-the-mouth quality has since transitioned to blinding, occasionally holo, highlight.)

Granted, people have been using darker-than-their-skin products to contour and enhance features – cheekbones, jaw lines, what-have-you for ages. I think the rise to prominence in the past few years is thanks to the artistry routinely done on a certain famous-for-nothing-really celebrity who I won’t bother naming (not Voldemort, I’ll say that). If you’ve seen her without her makeup, the difference is stark. So contouring has been trendy for a while, but the market for products intended for it exploded this year.

Most notable brands came out with something dedicated to it this year (unless they already had it). Cream sticks? Palettes? Special brushes? Name a brand and I can name you a product.

Here’s an observation about a lot of the products coming out, though, for you:

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The Problem with Photoshop

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift for clarity and readability. Opinions are the same. Enjoy!

There’s a lot of chatter in the beauty realm. Some positive, uplifting, and fantastic. Some catty, hateful, and rude. Others are debate-worthy, but fall on neither side of the spectrum. One hot debate topic in this realm is whether or not it using Photoshop or other image editing techniques on beauty photos is acceptable.

The way I see it, there are two sides to this coin.

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I am a Sucker and Refreshed My Highlights

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Beauty Skeptic's Balayage

Remember earlier this year when I decided to discontinue my highlights?

I thought I was pretty steadfast in that decision. They’re growing out alright, and as it turns out, a nice curling iron can cover a multitude of touchup-absent-related sins. But man, I really enjoyed having light hair.

I happened to see that my salon corrected its wildly crazy price structure. My birthday rolled around. We spent less money in general than I anticipated we would, recently, and I decided, “Treat yoself!”

So I made an appointment and refreshed my highlights! They plied me with margaritas made with lime sherbet (!) and balayaged my hair. They were running a promotion, too, where any service was accompanied with a complimentary brow sugaring. Yeah – sugaring! It is neat.

In case you missed it, this is how I care for my balayage highlights and keep them brass-free.

Independence Day 2018

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Hi.

I didn’t particularly want to take today off. In fact, my June 2018 Favorites post is penned and just needs graphics.

That said, I just bought a house (!). As I have a day off from my day job due to the holiday, I need to prioritize that stuff. Content returns Friday, and my June 2018 Favorites will go live next week.

If you’re from the US, Happy Independence Day! Stay safe and hydrated, use sunscreen (and reapply!), and don’t blow your damn hands off with fireworks. ;)

Thanks for bearing with me.

Flip Flop Fantasy – New is Not Always Improved

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This legacy post has been given a facelift because it still hurts my heart. I loved this damn color! Content has been edited for clarity but opinion and, as far as I can tell, the status of the product in question are the same.

Raise your hand if you’ve been hurt by a reformulation! Maybe it was New Coke. Or the use of HFCS in place of cane sugar in everything in general. Your recently-repurchased signature fragrance not being so signature anymore. Pantene doing Pantene things. Innovation in general is a good thing. But we’ve all experienced product changes and came to discover that new is not always improved.

Take nail polish, for instance. Certain shades are so well-known that they have their own cult of personality. If you’re here, reading, you can probably name at least half a dozen OPI shades off the top of your head without Google’s help – and that’s saying nothing of other brands.

Flip Flop Fantasy

It’s a bright, rich neon coral creme from their 2010 Poolside collection. Or, well, it was. A friend wore the Gelaze version of Flip Flop Fantasy for her wedding last summer; it seemed peach then, but I chalked that up to the occasional difference in the gel versions of shades. Alas, it wasn’t because it is gel, it was because China Glaze changed the shade entirely.

It’s a completely different color, now, in both RNP and gel. Chit Chat Nails shared images of both bottles, complete with the same item codes…

China Glaze Flip Flop FantasyFlip Flop Fantasy – Chit Chat Nails (now defunct)

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