Commentary

Gelish ??

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Since Christmas 2012, I have tried a ton of different gel polish brands. In the beginning, I was disappointed by the general lack of variety made available to consumers. Back then, Gelish seemed to have the best range (in my opinion) of colors. Naturally I bought a zillion, eagerly taking advantage of rare buy one, get one free – or the rarer still buy one, get TWO free.

Strike One: Get it Together, Gelish!

Gelish has a lovely pink called Go Girl. It was one of my first from them. It went on fairly well with only minor tip-shrinkage (requiring a flash cure; common, not a dealbreaker). Unfortunately, within just a few days, it faded. WTF?

As it turns out, this is common with several other shades, including It’s a Lilly.

To date, I have not experienced this with any other gel polish.

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Products I Love But Don’t Always Use

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Just because a product is good, or even great, doesn’t mean I’m always up for exerting the effort to use it. I could easily title this post, “Products I Love But Don’t Routinely Make Time For…Because Sleep.”

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade

Dipbrow, for instance. Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade is fantastic. I’m still a loyal user, but I don’t use it daily. I simply don’t always have enough time, or bothers to give, to sit there in front of a mirror sculpting my brows with a brush. It is possible to use this product in a hurry, but I’m usually seeking a different look.

sephoraserum

Sephora Teint Infusion Ethereal Natural is so gorgeous. The finish is wonderful. It is not, however, remotely forgiving to the smallest hint of atypical texture – be it dryness or flaky skin. It requires me to pay a little more attention to my skin before use and during application; not a bad thing, I’m just not always up for it.

 

udfbombRed Lipstick (any). I love reds and close-to-red shades; they’re bold and empowering. That said, I usually wear MLBB shades for two reasons – one, they’re flattering and two, they’re effortless. You have to be trying to mess them up, right? But red (like UD F-Bomb or even bold, close-to-red pinks like UD Catfight) requires attentiveness. Depending on your poison, you may or may not need lip liner, but applying without a mirror is out of the question. KvD Foiled Love Lipstick in Adora (now discontinued, but I believe Adora is available in the Studded Kiss formula now) is life, but I can’t slap it on haphazardly running out the door.

 

Products I Love But Don't Always Use

Pigments are delightfully fun! I only own four – three from NYX, and Rushmetal from MAC (from that whole Glambot thing). Anyone who has ever used loose pigments can tell you, however, that there is no such thing as, “really quick,” with them. Application takes more steps, fallout is a thing, cleanup of your workspace will always be a thing. I only really end up using these for special occasions as a result.

Maybelline Gel Liner

 

Gel liner is my favorite, but most days, I’m using dark eyeshadow to define my lashline. I need at least three minutes to apply it, more if I’m doing something, “fun,” like wings or flicks.

I really enjoy all of these things, but in my normal, run-of-the-mill, day-to-day life I can’t pull it all off. I’ll often do one of these things on a weekday, but being as that I wake up at 5:45, I’m desperate for all the sleep I can get!

Commentary: Buy Your Own Makeup

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This whole post was inspired by the events that played out over the course of this text message conversation posted on Distractify. Don’t send people on errands to buy things they don’t know about – or, in short… buy your own makeup.

In the share, a woman has tasked her significant other to go to the store and collect for her a lipstick with only vague descriptors (not a brand, line, or color name), and a false lash kit. Unfortunately, the poster was well out of his element.

  1. If you must send someone to buy things (especially makeup!) – BE SPECIFIC.

The least you could do is send them with a photo or figure out and tell them exactly what you want.

2. If you screw up and task someone with such a thing, then realize they are not up to the task (due to lack of information or familiarity), do not have them continue. Sure, the willingness to try is cute, but…don’t. Go buy your own makeup.

“Light, bright,” might mean something to us when it comes to lipcolor, but it doesn’t mean much to a lot of people.

3. If you realize that this individual cannot tell the difference between a bottle of nail polish and a tube of lipstick…ABORT MISSION IMMEDIATELY.

See number 2.

4. Don’t encourage people to open non-testers to swatch them for you. (And don’t do it yourself!) You are precisely the reason why we can’t have nice things when it comes to drugstore.

You suck, I hope you’re pleased with yourself.

The article was meant to be humorous. To a point, it was – but I can’t shake the feeling that this stuff happens more often than ever occurred to me before I read that silly piece. For the love of cats, go buy your own makeup and don’t send someone else who is not qualified to do it for you.

(Also, I’m not suggesting that significant others are inherently not qualified – but unless yours is pretty interested in your facepaint process… just don’t.)

Throwback Roundup – March 2016

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Throwback Roundup

I’m trying to make a concerted effort to have a presence in good ol’ Twitter’s Throwback Thursday shenanigans. Not everyone likes or uses Twitter, though (no judgment – it took me a long time to come around and accept it as a tool) – so I figured a good way to maybe revive old content might be to do a monthly roundup. In addition to my Twitter activity, I’ll share a throwback roundup as a proper post on the last posting day of the month.

Get nostalgic with me!

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Value Sets

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Throughout the year (but especially during the holidays!) retailers and brands offer samplers or value sets where you pay $X amount for several products. Like anything else, some are hits, some are misses. I’ve bit on a few of these before – a Marc Jacobs rollerball trio three years ago for $39 (still have more than half of each – definitely happy with that purchase!), The Too Faced Everything Nice Holiday 2014 Set for $59 (while I still love most of the shadows in this, if I were doing it over with over a year of hindsight, I’m not sure I would have purchased).

What I’ve never purchased for myself, however, are the Sephora-curated value sets. It’s foolish really, because some of them have been really good. I think value sets are a great way to a) try new product without committing to a full-price, full-size; b) a good way to revive your collection; and c) Sample sizes are always great for purses and travel.

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Flight Routine

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Flight Routine - Skincare, Beauty, etc.What do you mean, “Flight Routine?”

I’ve seen a lot of posts and videos about ‘flight routines.’ They usually consist of a person going to the airport in full makeup to board the plane. Once seated and in-flight, they proceed to wipe away their facepaint and slather on a veritable ton of skincare goo.

We all know flying is stressful not just on our minds and bodies but also our hair and skin. Could you imagine sitting next to someone who sets up a vanity on their tray-table and slaps on a sheet mask? Ack.

Because this particular itinerary is for business it is important to look as professional as possible at virtually all times. For one, I am travelling as a representative of my employer and two, I am traveling in the company of both my immediate manager and a mentor of mine. So no, no sheet masks, no thick balms, or notions of lotions and potions.

My travel has me in the air for roughly 6.5-7 hours each way with a layover in between and probably not nearly enough water or good food. It isn’t really nap-friendly.

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