PSA

Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 1 – Asbestos in Makeup from Claire’s (& Justice!)

by

Ah, Claire’s. Purveyors of the overpriced cute du jour, loved by many 90s (and today’s, I suppose) girls. Probably loathed by parents who thought their pricing was insane. I got my ears pierced at Claire’s (I don’t recommend this, more on why at another time) around my fifth birthday, and most of my earrings for just over a decade after came from them. As a kid, I was a fan as were many of my friends and peers growing up.

Quality

No one who has purchased Claire’s wares will hold any illusions that they sell quality product. It isn’t meant to be quality; it is meant to be cute and satisfy the fleeting whims of children. We obviously aren’t buying Tarte products. Hell, we aren’t even buying NYX – but for the prices Claire’s wants, you might as well go buy NYX and get safer (and higher quality) product.

So while we can’t expect Claire’s to carry high quality, durable products, we ought to be able to expect safe ones – especially since their entire target demographic is children. Evidently, however, we can’t.

Recall due to Asbestos in Makeup from Claire’s

Read more

Cuticle Oil & Pedicures

by

Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil

This is a legacy post that I’ve given a facelift. Content is the same but may have been edited for clarity, flow, and with some thoughts from 2017.

In retrospect, this seems really obvious. Maybe it already occurred to you, but it only occurred to me recently.

Good Riddance to the Remnants

I was removing the remnants of my last DIY pedicure (China Glaze I’m With the Lifeguard; a delightfully obnoxious shimmery lime green). I didn’t do a full pedicure with callus removal, but I did file the nails into a more respectable shape and length, gently bullied the cuticles back to where they ought to be, and cleaned up the errant bits of the eponychium.

Normally, at this point, I’d throw an AHA lotion on them (like Alpha Hydrox’s 10% lotion), some cotton socks, and go to bed.

2017 Update: I don’t bother with an AHA lotion for my feet anymore with my foot care routine. Instead, I just use any thick lotion I have lying around – right now, that’s this Hawaiian Tropic After Sun lotion. It smells like lime and coconuts and summer – which is great when October is in denial about what season it should be.

Cuticle Oil + Pedicure = No Brainer

This time, I skipped the lotion because (lazy moment) it wasn’t in arm’s reach. Instead, I slapped some of my Josie Maran Argan Oil Light on them, massaged it in, and went about my evening.

Read more

PSA: Baking Soda Again (Don’t Use It)

by

Do Not Use Baking Soda on Your Face

Monthly favorites will be rescheduled – thanks for bearing with me. Meanwhile, I’ve been seeing a resurgence of some bad beauty advice.

Ostensibly in an effort to reduce exposure to chemicals, the sources promoting, “natural,” beauty are back to promoting using baking soda as a skincare and exfoliation agent again. Stop! You’re causing more harm than help.

Read more

A Bit Shady: OPI Swatches

by

Nail polish was my first (beauty) love. Even though my nail polish wardrobe is smaller these days I’m lame, I still feel a rush of completely ridiculous excitement when I spot a majestic shade. (Zoya Dream, can you stop haunting me? Thanks.) OPI makes my longest-loved (still manufactured) shade, I’m Not Really a Waitress. I don’t really wear it year-round anymore, but it is pretty much the only thing on my nails from Thanksgiving through Christmas. It makes guest appearances throughout the year as the mood strikes. It was on one such mission to plan repurchase and admire swatches of this polish that I noticed that OPI swatches are inaccurate, computer-generated garbage.

OPI Swatches aren’t Swatches

Not in that they’re low-quality, shoddy lighting, on ugly nails. No – OPI swatches are flat-out digitally whipped up lies. Not retouched, nay; a fabrication in their entirety.

My beloved, beautifully swatched by Elegantnails.com:

Then, the ridiculous embarrassment provided by OPI themselves:

Read more

Beauty Insider Points CAN Expire but Don’t Panic

by

Lighting in Sephora

If you’re a lunatic beauty hobbyist, you’ve probably heard that Sephora has altered its policy regarding Beauty Insider Points. Before, you could hoard them five-ever and spend them on ridiculous 1000+ swag. Now they have a shelf life.

People are losing their shit.

Twitter is aflame with disgruntled point junkies customers who feel that this new policy is an attack on freebies they are entitled to not actually entitled to. Oh for the love of highlighted cats it’s a war on our deluxe minis.

Don’t get me wrong – I love freebies, point perks, and gifts with purchase. I love that marketing strategy – what better a way to get us to buy product than to give us tiny versions to become obsessed with? At the end of the day, it sucks when perks change – but you aren’t owed freebies. And besides that…

Have you Read the Policy Change?

No? Are you freaking out?

  1. Chill.
  2. Read the policy.

Read more

PSA: Conair Jumbo Instant Heat Hot Rollers

by

Conair Jumbo Instant Heat Hot Rollers

Conair Jumbo Instant Heat Jumbo Hair Setter

Every time I use my Conair Jumbo hot rollers, I wonder:

Why the hell don’t I do this more often? It is so low-effort for such nice results; definitely gives the illusion that I took more than the 5-10 minutes it takes to put these in.

If we’re being honest, I can spare 5-10 active minutes most mornings for my hair to do itself. I just conveniently forget that when I’m slapping the snooze button.

The Conair Jumbo set isn’t fancy like a Caruso steam set or, “sexy,” like the T3 rollers are. My rollers cost me about $35 when I bought them several years ago. Right now, they’re available on Amazon for around $27 – but also have a $5 off coupon. Be sure to choose the Amazon-exclusive set for the additional $5 off.

Why Hot Rollers

Don’t get me wrong, curling irons and wands can and do provide amazing results, but I don’t have time for them most mornings. They aren’t as forgiving, and the entire styling time is active – you’re sitting there operating the device the entire time. It is also easy to burn yourself!

Once you figure out how to part your hair for your preferred results, you can throw jumbo rollers in your hair in ten minutes (or less if, unlike me, you are coordinated).

Read more