Prestige

Esqido Lashes – A Lash Named Desire

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First things first: I received a free pair of lashes courtesy of Esqido for the purpose of a review and a before-and-after photo. Otherwise, I did not receive any compensation or incentive to write this content, and as always, all opinions are my own.

I’ve only worn false lashes once, ever. This time-ish last year, in fact. That’s right – I didn’t even bother for my wedding. I don’t have anything against lashes; they just don’t fit into my day-to-day, and my life isn’t rife with special occasions, either. As a result, I haven’t tried many – so when Esqido reached out, I figured, “What the hell, let’s do it!”

I had the opportunity to select my pair of lashes. I decided to go with a medium volume pair and ultimately landed on Lash Named Desire:

Esqido Lashes - A Lash Named DesireEsqido Lashes – Lash Named Desire, $29

Along with it, they sent a tube of their lash glue:

Esqido Lashes - Lash GlueEsqido Companion Lash Glue, $10

First Impressions

Esqido Lashes come in a pretty damn nice magnetic-closure box. I popped that open and gingerly retrieved the lashes to see how they compare to my actual eye. Given my limited experience, I had never worked with mink lashes before and was surprised how soft they were. I’ve seen a thousand-and-one YouTubers gush about their luxurious, fluffy mink lashes (from Esqido and other brands), but I assumed they were just putting one on. So, no – they’re surprisingly plush.

Giving ‘Em a Go

“Whoa, this band is huge,” was my first thought upon removing them from their packaging. I’m not sure whose eyes these are made for, but they were drastically longer than my upper lashline. I started by trimming off the innermost section on each lash, then retested; nope. I then trimmed the outer-most section – viola, a passable length.

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Worth it? Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift. Content is the same but may have been edited for clarity and readability. Any additional commentary is noted in line.

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade hasn’t been new in a while, but I didn’t bite when it first came out. Although I love the idea of creme and gel products for eyeliner, I wanted to observe the market and opinions for taking the plunge. Despite not being the first product of its kind, it quickly achieved cult favorite status.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade pot and boxAnastasia Dipbrow Pomade

I eventually decided I would go for it, but hadn’t gotten around to buying it. Then, I won a contest in a community I am a member of – and won Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Taupe. Taupe is the, “safe,” shade that, if you aren’t sure or can’t go get color-matched, you should pick (it will work on the widest variety of brows). That was six months ago (from the original 4/24/2015 posting).

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Unpopular Opinion – It’s a 10 Miracle Leave‑In Product

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It's a 10 Miracle Leave‑In ProductIt’s a 10 Miracle Leave‑In Product

At some point, leave-in conditioners stopped being quite as cool and therefore stopped being marketed quite as heavily (until recently-ish). For me, although argan oil is lovely for my hair, I don’t achieve the same results with it as I did the leave-ins of yore. My lightened ends are a bit drier than the rest of my hair, so I like to help them out.

In January, having stalked sales and armed with a gift card, I purchased a small bottle of It’s a 10 Miracle Leave‑In Product. Stylists I respect rave about it. Regular ol’ non-beauty-educated folks I know in, “real life,” rave about it. Bloggers I trust that fall on either end of that spectrum rave about it. Can that many people be wrong?

In a Word? Yep

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Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 8 – MAC 217 Discontinued

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MAC 217

Within the last three months, MAC discontinued the classic construction of their perennially popular 217 brush in favor of a synthetic bristle version, the 217S. The change came not only for the cult favorite 217 but for the entire MAC brush line. The 224, for instance, is now the 224S.

For some, this is extremely exciting; synthetic bristles make the brush accessible to vegans and those with animal cruelty-related concerns.

The Disappointment

For many others, however, the new brush is not achieving the same rave reviews as the original. With 2.5/5 reviews at most retailers who carry MAC, the performance of the new, synthetic version doesn’t quite live up to consumers’ expectations. After all, if you take two brushes that are cut identically but one is natural hair and one is Taklon, the way they pick up and distribute color is going to be vastly different. The way they feel on your skin will differ, too.

The Perplexing

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Quick Take: Benefit Gimme Brow is Coming Back

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Gimme Brow Recall

I was sad when the recall of Gimme Brow came out. At the time, it seemed as though the product was being discontinued.

Then, after weeks with a new product and almost as soon as my post about that product went live, I got word that Gimme Brow is returning. Rather, at this point, has returned for online sales for the most part. It will be available in most stores by Friday.

The packaging, price, and shade range appears to be the same. The product now has a plus sign appended at the end of its name so it reads: Gimme Brow+. To me, this implies a reformulation. Based on the earlier recall, a reformulation makes sense to comply with eye safety standards…but then why throw on the + sign? There don’t appear to be any claims of enhanced efficacy, hold, conditioning, or any of that jazz.

As for me… 

I still intend to use up my Ulta Brow Tint. I also still intend to try Glossier Boy Brow. But I’m delighted Gimme Brow is back and definitely plan to repurchase to verify that havoc wasn’t wreaked on it. That said, at $24 a tube, purchases will be limited to infrequent VIB and Ulta Platinum sales.

Ultamate Rewards – New Reward Tier

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I don’t know if there was a promotional communiqué regarding the new reward tier available at Ulta but I saw it mentioned in an e-mail last month.

Previously, their base tier was open to everyone and included point earning (redeemable for $ off), a free birthday gift, and double points during your birth month.

Platinum

If you spent $400 in a year, you’d achieve Platinum. For the 2018 reward year, however, Ulta has increased that threshhold by fifty bucks to $450.

New Reward Tier – Diamond

The new reward tier is unlocked with a $1200 annual spend with Ulta. That exceeds Sephora’s VIB Rouge tier by $200 per year.

At first, I thought their new credit card may accelerate that achievement, but since the tiers are based on dollars-spent, not points-earned, it doesn’t seem like it will.

Diamond Perks

Perks new or exclusive to the Diamond tier include:

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