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SO COOL: Dieux Forever Eye Mask

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The sheet mask trend has completely missed me. What value is having a sheet on my face? It seems wasteful; I’d rather just slather the product on. But although the sheet mask trend isn’t for me, the little swoop eye masks are not only relevant to my interests but a fairly important part of not looking quite so … zombified. So learning about the Dieux Forever Eye Mask blew my mind.

Over the years, I’ve been working towards a more mindful approach to my consumption and use of disposables. I no longer use makeup wipes, have drastically reduced my use of disposable cotton, and done several other things to lower my beauty waste. Under-eye masks, however, didn’t have a good swap or alternative, though – until now.

The Dieux Forever Eye Mask

What makes these eye masks so great?

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Beauty Burnout

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Beauty Burnout

I started writing this four times. That isn’t common; usually I have an immediate sense of what to say, but in this case only an essence. I just saw an ad for the Urban Decay Wild West palette and rolled my eyes. Just re-release Naked already, damn it. We don’t need another inferior clone with a couple exciting colors with edgy names (though Tex is a gorgeous emerald green).

/curmudgeon off

I’ve been on a not-terribly-defined low buy for a while. Part of me not spending or buying means not shopping. Fortunately, between a combination if finding my stride and general beauty burnout, I don’t shop or consume nearly as much content about the beauty industry as I did when I started this blog.

Beauty Burnout

Beauty burnout is a thing. We’re seeing it everywhere in brands, products, retailers, content creators, friends, colleagues. The pandemic is a contributor, but not the sole instigator.

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PSA: Drink More Water!

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Drink more water

Do you drink enough water? I can relate – I don’t. After my doctor told me that I need to scale back my caffeine intake last April (FML), I’ve been trying. While I’ve succeeded in managing my caffeine intake, I am trying to balance things out by being better about drinking water.

Not unlike using a fountain to entice cats to drink, tricking myself to drink more water is a good strategy.

For example, before I drink coffee in the morning, I try to down 16 fl oz of water first. I don’t always succeed, but it sets me up on a good note before I start screwing myself over with diuretic coffee.

I managed to get myself to actually crave water. Just water. (I still adore exciting water. I just have to marvel at actually wanting still water; I thought it was an impossibility for me.)

Why Drink More Water?

You’ll probably feel better if you drink more water – in the same way that regular exercise, once you get past the discomfort of starting anew, will. This and last winter have really started to make me notice the waning resilience of my skin.

I simply don’t retain hydration like I did:

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Ways to Lower Your Beauty Waste

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ways to lower your beauty waste

Ever wonder about how to lower your beauty waste or lower your beauty consumption? Over the years, I’ve challenged myself over the years to make small, practical changes in my habits and consumption. Beauty and personal care aren’t exempted from this endeavor.

Here to Inspire, NOT Preach

I am not and do not aim to be zero waste. I’m also not here to preach at you from astride a white horse. My time is valuable to me, and I am willing to make certain concessions in the name of convenience to preserve some of it. I think there’s a balance to strike – plastic isn’t evil, just like chemicals aren’t evil, but we should produce and consume (let alone recycle or dispose of) far more thoughtfully (read: less) than the average person is today.

If you’re able or willing to go harder than me? That’s great! If you haven’t made changes along these lines but want to, that’s great too – and maybe I can give you some ideas to lower your beauty waste that don’t feel like such a sacrifice that you can’t achieve them. After all, goals that aren’t achievable aren’t smart.

Just because you aren’t going full-tilt doesn’t mean what you CAN do doesn’t make a difference.

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Toning my Highlights with WELLA Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color

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Toning my Highlights with WELLA Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color

I haven’t found the courage to color my own hair altogether. I am, however, brave enough to undertake smaller, lower-risk color-adjacent jobs myself. Like glossing, toning my highlights is a perfect example of a low-risk, usually professional procedure I’m willing to undertake myself.

Until last July, I hadn’t explored, “proper,” toners or heard of Wella Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color. I’m risk averse, so I had been employing purple toning shampoo to tone down brass with this method.

About five months after my last balayage appointment, I decided to take a stab at toning my highlights properly. After several hours of research, I decided to try toning my highlights with the Wella Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color line.

Note: I am not a licensed hair professional; I have not gone to beauty school! I’m a STEM professional and like reading and learning for fun. Although I feel comfortable making these decisions for myself, I recommend you do your homework before taking the plunge into DIY chemical treatments.

Fortunately, Wella Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color and other Wella products aren’t all pro-only and any ol’ person can buy from Sally Beauty or Amazon.

Selecting the Correct Toner Shade

First, assess your toning goal. My goal was to cool down the brassiness/warmth that my balayage highlights had accumulated over time. Depending on your hair, you might seek something with neutral or cool/ash tones to achieve this goal.

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Lancome Juicy Tubes

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Lancome Juicy Tubes

Luxury brand Lancome isn’t on the forefront of beauty trends, but Lancome Juicy Tubes ($20) glosses endure as a classic and a favorite in the broader community of cosmetics fanciers.

I like the idea of lipgloss, but rarely the execution. As a youngster, I owned a few Wet n Wild tubes (and they still make a shade I used to use and still enjoy!), but never fully embraced them once I started wearing makeup in earnest as an adult. I can cope with the need to reapply often (though I don’t want to), but sticky is unacceptable.

My preferences translate to a relative unwillingness to risk $20 (or even a sale price; at 20% off they’d still be $16) on one. Admittedly, I was curious though: we’re talking about a non trendy/hype machine product with enduring 4.5 star reviews. Could Lancome Juicy Tubes be that good? What would a $20 lip gloss have to do or be in order for you to buy it?

Giving Lancome Juicy Tubes a Shot

There’s no universe in which I spend that much on something that looks like I could’ve gotten it from Claire’s as a child. When I was able to nab a free sample tube, I did.

In (an acronym and) a word:

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