Chatter

Manicure Monday – 8/12/2019 – Revel Nail Aurora + Bubbly & Catch-Up

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Yeah, wow, hi. We’ll get into the hiatus in a sec, but first:

I tried an acrylic dip nail system! I suck at it but, third application in, am getting better. I’ve been waffling on waiting to talk about it until I am good at it for Insta-worthy pics but…since when do I care about being Insta-worthy?

Revel Nail Aurora and Revel Nail BubblyRevel Nail Aurora & Revel Nail Bubbly

I’m not writing a review of Revel Nail Aurora and Revel Nail Bubbly dip powders in this post, but I’ll share a couple thoughts:

  • This picture does not capture color accurately. I am wearing both Revel Nail Aurora, which is a nice, light nude pink (it definitely looks pink in person) and Revel Nail Bubbly on top.
  • Although not evident in this picture, my application is fairly bulky. This is because:
    • This application is three dips instead of two because I wanted to use Revel Nail Bubbly on top for some shimmer.
    • I suck at finish filing acrylic. This led me to buy an e-file, which I am still getting the hang of, but it has changed my pedicure world dramatically.

OKAY.

I recently saw an Instagram post from a blogger who decided to face the music regarding her content and who ultimately discontinued her project. That was a bit eye-opening for me. I’m not there, but it’s undeniable to me that I bet Beauty Skeptic take a back seat to everything else. Better no content than half-assed content, right? I haven’t really been buying and trying much stuff, so its really been a drought of content inspiration here, BUT here’s what I’ve been up to:

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Commentary: Sponsorship

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift.

Beauty Skeptic has no ongoing sponsor relationships at this time. It’s neither good nor bad, it’s just a fact. In the past, I’ve done some minor sponsored content – i.e., received free product to review (Esqido Lashes and their eyeliners) – but I’ve never been paid for a post.

Personally – and I felt this way before I started blogging – I don’t take issue with sponsored content as long as it:

  • Is disclosed legally (i.e., per FTC guidelines or whatever governing body applies) and
  • Has been subject to the same scrutiny they would if no sponsorship was involved.

That’s my view and my approach to the matter.

Unfortunately, some content creators out there don’t feel that they need to comply with the applicable laws. It isn’t just a matter of legal compliance, though. In most cases where sponsorship is even viable, you have developed a readership, viewership, whatever following. These people like you, believe in you, trust your opinion. While it isn’t wrong to get paid for your work, it IS wrong to take (what I view as) bribes to shill products that you otherwise don’t care for or wouldn’t promote. It isn’t just a matter of legality, it is a matter of ethics.

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Manicure Monday – 5/20/2019 – Sensationail Beat the Heat

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Sensationail Beat the Heat

How ridiculous is this yellow?! Sensationail Beat the Heat is crying for summer. I’m behind the curve again (oops). I applied this manicure two weeks ago on the twelfth and wore it up until the 26th – so I got a full two weeks out of it. This week, I’m wearing Diva Bride again – maybe I’ll post that next week.

Sensationail Beat the Heat

I remember the first time I saw this rich yellow creme gel polish. Someone had done an amazing ombre sunset manicure all with gel polish and this was the yellow in it. The manicure itself was incredible, but I just remembered being like, “Damn, I’ve never seen a yellow gel polish before!”

So, from that point forth, I wanted this damn color in my collection. It has been literal years. No; this is not an exaggeration. When Sensationail launched this vibrant yellow, they first only made it available in UK. Damn!

Then, they made it available in the US – but it was online only for ages. Considering (at the time), I had all the other Sensationail colors I wanted, I wasn’t going to shell out for shipping for a single bottle of gel polish.

By wonderful happenstance, I saw an Instagram post of theirs suggesting it would be in stores. The very next time I was in Wal-Mart, I made a beeline for nail polish and

There.

It.

Was.

Yoink. Mine at last!

Application

This picture is two coats and it is damn near opaque, but I found myself wishing I’d done a third; in certain light, you could see the smile line of the free edge of my natural nail. It wasn’t bad or obvious though; most people wouldn’t notice but I’m occasionally known for being a mildly neurotic perfectionist with this and many things.

Application was good and up to par with Sensationail’s consistency. It wore like a champ with no lifting or misbehavior; I got my first chip on the thirteenth day of wear.

The Bottom Line

I actually can’t find a link to a store that carries it, but if you aren’t allergic to paying nearly as much in shipping as the product you’re buying, you can get it from Sensationail here. Their site still says its online only, but that’s not the case – I definitely picked it up in store a couple miles from my house. :) Happy painting!

Melanoma Monday – Skin Cancer & Melanoma Awareness

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This legacy post has been given a facelift but content remains the same. I will be a broken record on this topic until forever and a day.

Melanoma Awareness Ribbon - Melanoma Monday

I’ve talked about my pursuit of a good facial sunscreen before (I’m liking it, btw!) and have mentioned here and there that my Mom received a (super early) Melanoma diagnosis.

Given today, specifically, is Melanoma Monday (first Monday in May), designated by the American Academy of Dermatology, I’m sharing my mom’s melanoma story to help raise awareness.

– – –

Mom

Growing up in the 70s and early 80s, few people gave a damn about sunscreen and fewer people made their children wear it. Kids played outside not only more frequently than they do now, but more often (which, in itself, is not a bad thing). During her youth, she managed to get some fairly intense sunburns – to the point of agonizing sun poisoning. I even recall her telling a story about using baby oil while tanning; she burned, of course, and learned her lesson about that much, but still didn’t really employ sunscreen. As an adult, her skin would still burn when we’d spend any considerable amount of time outside, but I recall her being red for just a day or two, then peeling and having a decent tan. She thought, “Eh, no big deal. I’ve had worse.”

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Chatter: My Makeup Uniform – Winter 2019

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Chatter

For a long while, I was just throwing concealer on my eyelids, mascara on my lashes, and calling it a day most days. Then, I decided I wanted to try to Project Pan the contents of my Z-Palette. Amusingly, I am not making a ton of progress wearing the contents down. In the process, though, I inadvertently discovered what I like to do on auto-pilot for my eyes. Since my eyes tend to be the longest part of painting my face, this was a game-changer. So now, most weekdays, this is what I do to my face.

Base

I have a complicated relationship with base makeup. I haven’t worn, “real,” foundation in literal years now. In the fair weather months, I don’t bother with it. Between heavier usage of Clarins Glow Booster and my sunscreen-covered skin being incorrigible and taking color anyway, my skin generally looks good. I don’t want to cover up my skin when it is looking good; plus, it saves me steps and product which equal time and money.

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Discuss: Beauty Budgets

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Beauty Budgets - Vladimir Tarasov / Via Getty ImagesBeauty Budgets
Vladimir Tarasov / Via Getty Images

This legacy post has been given a facelift and an update, but content/opinions are the same. Enjoy!

I came across this Wall Street Journal article on the the high price of beauty. In the article (here), the annual beauty budgets of four successful women are discussed.

Expectations

I’m not quite sure what I expected, but what I read was definitely not it.

The four women are, in order:

  • A, “style expert,” and founder of what is essentially an organization that gives makeovers to needy women
  • An actress
  • A jewelry designer and
  • An entertainment executive

Clearly, all women of means, but I was still not prepared for what I read.

Three of the four women indicated an annual beauty expenditure was around twenty thousand dollars. Let’s put that into numbers instead of words, and let it sink in. Their beauty budgets were around $20,000 per year. The fourth came in just under $10,000.

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