As you may imagine, as a beauty blogger I spend a lot of time on various beauty sites to check out what it new. On one of my recent trips down the makeup-on-the-internet rabbit hole, I came across this:
This is nail polish. The bottle looks kind of neat (in fact, the cap reminds me of Julep’s Plie wand [that I have not tried]).
October 2014 FavoritesWe are well over three-quarters of the way through 2014. Holiday season is descending upon us…but in the meantime, here are my October 2014 Favorites.
Indulgent. Exquisite. Envy-Inducing. We’re presenting our most coveted gift sets of the season. No one deserves them more than you.
was how a recent email I received from Sephora started out. Eyebrow already cocked.
This brush (via the Wayback Machine), the limited edition Sephora Swarovski Pro Airbrush 55, was referenced said email. “Oh, a sparkly brush. That’s fun,” I thought. I didn’t see the price in the email.
Sephora Swarovski Pro Airbrush 55Later on, while browsing Sephora’s site, I came across it again.
The Sephora Swarovski Pro Airbrush 55 costs $275. One brush. Nothing special other than the fact that it is decked out in rhinestones. I could revamp my entire brush collection in Sigma and have money left over.
This is not even a specialty brush. Just a basic brush. The regular version (which has outstanding reviews!) costs only $34. See:
On top of being ludicrously expensive, the, “luxurious,” Sephora Swarovski Pro Airbrush 55 is also wildly impractical – if you ever try to use it, good luck not getting makeup caked onto it. It will become a breeding ground for bacteria, the sparkle that you ostensibly purchased it for will dull. Cleaning in between the stones will be hellish at best. Even routine cleaning would be nerve-wracking – what if the adhesive holding the Swarovski crystals on weakens due to exposure to moisture?
For the love of cats, no, this Sephora Swarovski Pro Airbrush 55 brush is not worth it. Brushes are tools not decor; and while I can certainly appreciate an aesthetically pleasing brush, I don’t want or need my brush handles to resemble a cheap-quality, vastly-overpriced mall-kiosk cell phone case that a 12 year old would slap on her phone.
I’m all about investing in quality tools. I do believe that the right tool can make or break your experience (and not just with makeup, with anything. Ever needed to unscrew something but couldn’t find a screwdriver and had to use something like a butter knife? IT SUCKS) but there is also a point where it doesn’t make sense. Sephora’s Swarovski Pro Airbrush 55 crossed that point well over $200 ago.
Fortunately, the very few reviews this brush has point out that this is not a great buy. If you want to give someone a cosmetic-related gift, try something else (like a holiday palette or some Sigma brushes). At least it was good for a laugh!
I really enjoy Sephora and they come out with a lot of neat stuff, but unfortunately some things are just misses. What other hilariously-priced (and not possibly worth it) tools have you come across?
Happy Halloween, everyone! Unfortunately, I do not have some badass/beautiful/weird Halloween makeup to share with you today. Perhaps some year.
In tune with Wednesday’s post, I figured I’d share my weekend trip skincare, too.
Spoilers: there isn’t much to share. It doesn’t really differ from my regular skincare.
Weekend Trip SkincareI’ll be bringing:
Each of these items is compact and travel-friendly (including my Clarisonic Mia 2 which has a clamshell case). Though I do have a lot of skincare stuff at home, this is what I’m constantly using.
You’ll notice my weekend trip skincare list did not include sunscreen – but that is because my Ponds BB+ cream contains it, so I don’t want/need an extra (plus, I’m finding a lot of facial sunscreens break me out anyhow). I won’t be doing anything in the days prior to cause additional sensitivity (use of AHA products, aggressive exfoliation).
Simple, straightforward, not a twelve-thousand product routine. What about your weekend trip skincare – is it more involved? Or do you just wing it and hope whatever soap the hotel has will be kind enough to your face? Or are you like me and haven’t been on a trip in ages and can’t really say?
Lucky for us, we’re managing to get a weekend away soon. There’s no agenda. We don’t have anyone to go see. No errands to run. We might opt to go out to dinner at a nice place, but currently have no reservations to do so – local Chinese takeout is equally possible. I’m really excited about being able to relax.
Two-thirds of people say they want to try to pack light and then bring a ton of luggage even just for a weekend away. More stuff you have to keep track of, more stuff you have to wash and/or put away when you get back…not worth it. “Ain’t nobody got time for that,” and such. So I decided to make my weekend trip makeup just a slightly modified version of what I might have for everyday.
I have been sick-ish since last Friday with a stupid sinus thing. That said, I look like hell because being sick generally does that to you as does the whole sinus-pressure-induced headaches and face pain. Oh, and waking up in the middle of the night, too. All awesome stuff. I’m finally pulling out of it, thankfully.
Fortunately, I haven’t had to look as rough as I’ve felt and sounded. Even though I don’t always execute this philosophy, I am of the opinion that the days upon which we want to bother with makeup the least are often the days when we can benefit from it the most. Being sick – not enough to debilitate you, just enough to make you uncomfortable and annoy you – is no exception, especially if you aren’t able to stay home for the duration of your illness.
Also, I want to be clear that I’m not suggesting that anyone do these things or wear sick day makeup, but since I had to go to work I prefer to look a little more lively; feeling out of it is an impact to productivity enough without a dozen people stopping you throughout the day asking if you’re okay, tired, sick, etc. I prefer not to entertain those questions, so sick day makeup it is. If I didn’t have to work, you can be sure that I would’ve been bare faced.
What the sick day makeup needs to correct: pale, dull skin; drier-than-usual skin, dark eye circles, redness around nose area. Woo. Despite what you’ll often hear and see, simpler is far better when you’re feeling sluggish.
Sick Day MakeupThough I already have a pretty simple routine, if I’m feeling out of it I want to simplify as much as possible. I want my sick day makeup to have as few steps as it reasonably can without sacrificing results because chances are I wanted to get out of bed on time even less that day than a regular day. I need to add some life back to my face if I need to be around people – which I did since I was unable to take any days off.
