Apparently, I am one of three people on Earth who actually likes the Sephora rewards program. Granted, spending around $75 to earn a deluxe sample is a bit rich, but at least Beauty Insider points don't expire. Getting actual cash back a la Ulta's rewards program is definitely preferable, but I will never spend enough money in a year for it to be worth it to me. So I do most of my shopping at Sephora, and I wait to push the "checkout" button until there are samples I really want.
Now, I've wanted the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo off and on for several years, and I decided to buy it back in February. But I have a birthday in April, so I waited until this month to place my order so I could use the credit from a return and cash in on my free birthday gift. That's already a big win for me; I never could have waited months to place an order in years past.
Annnnnnd I'm still waiting because the samples suck. One of the weirdly satisfying things that's come out of my downsizing and more conscious spending is that I'm very picky about what samples I'll settle for. It has to be a product I'm genuinely interested in, and it has to be in a shade or a formula I know I'll use. Currently, there's a red Laura Mercier lipstick available with a coupon code. There was a time when I would have just used that code and been done with it, because hey, free lipstick from a nice brand. Now, however, I know that I already have a ton of Besame reds I love, and I'm not actually interested in the formula. I'm actually quite interested in several of the foundation samples they've offered recently, but they're not offering a shade that will work for me. Nope. I'll wait.
Will I eventually just buy the ABH products and get the birthday gift if the samples never improve? Sure. But those Milk Makeup minis will be free to me until the end of April, and that store credit isn't going anywhere. I can wait. And the longer I wait, the more I feel like I'm breaking away from this endless need to BUY BUY BUY.
Speaking of my birthday! If you're interested in getting me a present and you have $3 to spare, donating to my Ko-Fi would be absolutely stellar. This spring's charity of choice is the DNA Doe Project, an organization that uses emerging DNA technology to identify John and Jane Does. While I have mixed feelings about law enforcement and medical organizations accessing genealogical DNA, I am all for it being used to give these people back their names and bring closure to families. You can read more about the DNA Doe Project on their website.
I have not received any donations for the past few months, so my recent donations will remain private.
I'm weirdly irritated by people who try to do a "full glam" look with makeup that's meant to be sheer and natural, and then they complain about it being sheer and natural. This seems to happen a lot with Glossier: they complain that the Perfecting Skin Tint "has no coverage" (it's not supposed to have any), or that Haloscope "just looks wet" (that's the point). While I'll rag on Glossier for a lot of things, particularly their marketing, I'm not going to complain about them making barely-there products. "Barely There" could actually be the brand's name. The just-released Glossier Lidstars are no different. They aren't advertised as high impact colors; the tagline for the product is actually "less shadow, more glow," and three of the six shades are described as "sheer."
That said, there's a difference between "sheer" and "invisible," and I know that's a legitimate fear some people have regarding these eyeshadows. And while I may not complain about their overarching aesthetic, I will rant about another factor in this review. So, you know...fair warning.
The real problem with this packaging isn't the appearance, though, it's the function. I'm not ashamed to say I was truly excited about these shadows when they launched, so imagine my frustration when I ripped open my pink bubble mailer and discovered that two of the six shades took a ton of effort to open. Slip took me a minute of twisting with a towel to finally open up, whereas Herb was stuck so tight, I had to enlist my mother to twist the tube one way while I twisted the cap in the opposite direction. After five minutes of wrenching, it eventually opened, but if you were somebody with reduced hand function, this would be a complete nightmare. When I complained about this on Instagram, multiple people messaged me and said they had the exact same issue, and one lovely follower pointed out that makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes (often featured by Glossier) had difficulty opening the tubes on an Instagram Live video. This is not an isolated issue.
On top of that, the lids for these tubes are really quite tiny. I have a tough time fitting my thumb, pointer, and middle fingers on the applicator, and I have relatively small hands. It hasn't been too much of an issue for me because I have full function in my hands and can grip the lid firmly, but it's definitely a bit awkward, and again, people who can't grip as well or as hard will likely find controlling the Lidstar applicator difficult. I think the fix for this is easy: make the lid longer, update the tube or the lid so that it's rubberized or textured, and/or update the packaging so that there's an edge to grip. Oh, and don't screw the damn things on so tight in the factory.
Natural light on top, ring light on the bottom.
Let's move on to the shades and performance of the actual liquid eyeshadow locked away in those obnoxious tubes. First, there are three very sheer shades: Moon, a champagne, Lily, a lilac, and Slip, an oyster pink. Then there are three more pigmented colors: Herb, a golden olive, Fawn, a taupe, and Cub, a rose gold. They all have a refined shimmer to them that thankfully doesn't flake off throughout the day.
Tin foil hat time: I find it very suspicious that, at the time of this review, Glossier's demo photos of the three sheerer shades don't feature anybody with dark skin. They have a video of Mekdes applying every color, but nobody darker than her seems to be featured. Will they actually show up on anybody who isn't as white as I am? I'm not sure. Darker skinned readers, please report back!
Glossier describes their Lidstar as "a wash of soft, glistening color that lasts all day...no need for primer." Now, "soft and glistening" is right up Glossier's natural glowing alley, but "lasts all day without primer" made me tilt my head. Their products are generally known for being easy to apply and barely perceptible on the skin, but not having the best staying power, especially if you have oily skin. I usually wear primer under all of my eyeshadows to prevent creasing, but I was so intrigued (and so lazy) on one particular work day that I decided to skip the primer. They also said that the formula is extremely blendable, even with fingers, so I paid close attention to that as well.
Here are macro shots of every shade except for Herb--feel free to zoom on. On the left, we have two layers of Slip (one layer is almost imperceptible), worn to work with no primer. Shockingly, I found that it did, in fact, stay creaseless for most of the day. There was one big crease in the middle of my eyelid after 12 hours, but you had to be decently close to see it, and the shadow hadn't broken up or smeared otherwise. These definitely stick, so you'll need a strong makeup remover to get them off.
The other two shots show Lily and Fawn, then Cub and Moon, over primer. I do prefer to wear them this way since it takes the creasing from 5% to 0%. Take a look at that middle shot, though, for a very obvious problem: Fawn applies patchy. When I put it on the outer half of my lid and tried to blend it in to Lily, it basically pulled away the shadow that was already there. I had to keep fiddling with it to get it to be visible, let alone decent. I had a similar problem with Herb: it applied very patchy and didn't blend well with other shades.
By contrast, the sheer shades applied smooth and even, even if I added another layer for more impact. Cub ended up being somewhere in the middle. One layer was very "meh" and slightly patchy, but two layers was smooth and beautiful.
I also tested blending these with a brush. Fingers definitely work best because they set so fast, especially on that first layer, but you can certainly use a fluffy brush to smooth out edges or spread the product evenly. Just be sure to use the lightest touch possible--too much pressure will pull the shadow up and leave you with bald spots.
I'd love to round my Lidstar score up from a 3.5 to a 4. While Herb and Fawn are letdowns, the other shades are really lovely, and the claims that they will look soft and stay on are totally true. But I'm sticking with a 3 because of that packaging. Ignoring my personal dislike of the actual look of the tubes, they just aren't as functional as they could be. Glossier listened to their customers before when there were complaints about the Generation G tubes; hopefully, they'll listen here, too.
RATING: 3 out of 5
Glossier products are available at their website. Affiliate link: Glossier.
These products were purchased from Glossier.com using store credit earned through referrals.
At a glance, it might seem that the "Fear of Missing Out" (or "FOMO") best fits social scenarios. It's second nature for our generation to gush about nights out with our friends on Facebook and post pictures of that amazing bonfire or that life-changing seminar on Instagram, knowing full well that our friends who weren't there might see these posts and feel like they missed out. But FOMO also drives consumerism, and it's become a powerful marketing ploy that can be hard to shake.
Logically, we know this. We know brands are going to make every product seem like the end-all-be-all, launch limited edition collections, and have two-day-only sales to get us to impulse purchase. People are much more aware of these tactics these days. And retailers have realized we're aware and are using it to their advantage, like when Sephora created a "NOFOMO" coupon code. It's like they're saying, "We so get that you're trying to be fiscally responsible! ...so we're giving you a coupon that will give you more."
But really, it's the same trick in different wrapping paper. They offer you two deluxe samples instead of the usual one-per-coupon because, hey, they wouldn't want you to experience that FOMO.
One of the creepiest things websites do, particularly beauty retailers, is email you if you walk away from your online shopping cart. To get you to come back and make that purchase, they imply that you've earned more products ("Shouldn't this be yours?") or, like the Sephora ad above, tap in to your FOMO. This ad outright suggests that I might miss out on Makeup Forever HD foundation...despite the fact that it's one of the brand's best-selling products, it's not limited edition, and the new formula was only recently released, so nyooooo, it's not going anywhere. Nice try, Sephora.
Again, logically, we can spot this, and we usually talk ourselves out of it in ten seconds flat. But don't you experience this with limited edition products, too? I'm not gonna lie, when MAC had another limited edition release and Nordstrom emailed me about a lipstick I'd let sit in my online cart for a day, the whole "it's selling out quickly!" bit almost got to me. I was able to talk myself out of it by going through my lipstick collection and realizing I already own several similar shades, and by reminding myself that I have a fuckton of lipstick. The point, though, is that even the most obvious marketing scare tactics can get to us. Brands are here to make money, and they know how to do it.
A more insidious and uncomfortable marketing tactic in beauty advertisements is the implication that overspending is always justifiable. Sometimes it's very subtle: the above B-Glowing ad doesn't mention bills or money, but it does say that "there's always room for more." On top of the obvious suggestion that it's a decadence worth overindulging, it's also subtly pointing to the fact that makeup takes up relatively little space. Okay, maybe you don't need another blush, but it's only $25, and it barely takes up any room! What's the harm?
I justified a lot of unnecessary purchases with that train of thought. That's one of the reasons why I've told myself I'm only allowed to own all of my current lipsticks if they can lay flat in one of my organizer drawers. Setting a really specific space goal for myself limits how much more I can bring in. Yeah, each lipstick is small compared to a book or a shirt, but that drawer space is finite.
Now, you'd think that the ads that outright mention overspending would be more stomach-churning than effective. The problem seems to be that they're written in cute little phrases that make light of a potentially harmful shopping addiction. Most of us have wasted money on something we really didn't need instead of putting it in our savings or paying off a bill; brands know this, and they use it to tap in to a sort of "we all oopsy-daisy sometimes" togetherness. The above ad from Honest Beauty's Instagram makes a joke out of an apparent lack of impulse control. And I've seen plenty of ads that chortled about how bills are adding up and the house is falling apart, but "at least my lipstick looks great."
I think this bothers me so much because it's a tactic I only see aimed at women. Ads for men's products definitely feed male insecurities about attractiveness and sexual prowess, but I don't see many ads aimed at men that say, "This want-not-need product is way more important to me than dealing with the responsibilities of an adult life, tee hee, aren't I silly!" Why is that? And why are so susceptible to it, even when it's rather insulting?
Sometimes, when I'm wasting my time eating ramen and watching Keith Olbermann videos instead of grading papers like an adult would, I start thinking about things I usually avoid thinking about. And I realize that I whine a lot. I can be borderline nasty when it's not entirely warranted, and I probably spend too much time ranting about my weird pet peeves. I admit this about myself--nobody is perfect. But I don't think it's wrong for me to whine, yet again, "Why u discontinue dees, Josie Maran?!" They're so flawless that they deserve a monthly post, if not a weekly one, I swear.
The Coconut Watercolor Eye Shadows are one of two eye shadow products I've loved, the other one being Wet n' Wild's Brulee eyeshadow. That's it. In all my years of wearing makeup, even when I wore plenty of eyeshadow, there were certainly products I liked, but none that I borderline worshiped like these. They're easy to use (slap it on and go) and so fantastically metallic that I get asked what I'm wearing every time I use one. Also, unlike many frosty cream shadows, these have a super-thin, watery formula that feels weightless on the eyes.
And yet Josie Maran is discontinuing them.
The process of getting rid of them seems to be taking a while. As mentioned in my last "Whhhhhhy?!" post, linked above, these disappeared from Sephora some time last year. But yes, they are definitely fading from the public eye. Here is the Josie Maran "Good Buys" page as of today; of these listed shades, three are still available, including this purple shade I want for no apparent reason. I haven't bought it yet because it's purple and I need more makeup like I need a hole in the head, but there's a little voice inside me screeching, "GET IT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS YOU WILL REGREEEEET THIIIIS!!!"
Why is Josie Maran discontinuing these if they're so beautiful and I'm a one-woman marketing campaign? I have a few guesses:
Josie Maran Cosmetics is having trouble selling their makeup. I've noticed that people buy up their skincare, particularly the argan oil, like it's going out of style, but I heard very little about the makeup. Check their Good Buys section and you'll notice that quite a lot of their makeup is heavily discounted.
The applicators kinda sucked. Don't get me wrong, they apply the shadow decently, and the packaging is visually appealing. But the doe foot applicators in the lids quickly earned a reputation for snapping off, something I soon experienced myself. When I contacted the company, they sent me three replacement lids, which was amazing. Still, can't they just improve the packaging? Do they have to throw the baby out with the shimmery bath water?
Some people found them tricky to apply...? I guess? I know the Beautypedia review complains about how hard it is to get a "blended" look with them, and I'm so used to applying them that I maybe don't think about the learning curve. That said, you actually CAN get a soft look with them if you know what to do. Personally, I apply the product all over my lid first, then--as the last step--I run a little in my crease. Immediately after placing the shadow in my crease, I use a soft shadow brush to blend it out and fade it in to my skin. These do dry quickly, so you have to be strategic, but again, it's not impossible to do it.
Regardless, they're definitely discontinuing the Coconut Watercolor Eye Shadows, and I'm still trying to make my peace with the decision. I've poked around the web looking for viable replacements, but the closest possibility I've found--the Milk Makeup Eye Pigments--have been quickly shot down by others. Most of the people I've spoken to who have tried them have said that they're "pretty, but you can feel them on your eyes." Eh, no. That's not the same. I'm still waiting for a replacement.
So I've got two things on my mind. One, I'm going to try fiddling with eye makeup a bit more to try some new things and break out of my comfort zone a little. It's likely going to be atrocious, so please don't judge me too harshly. Two, if you have any recommendations for a viable replacement product, please tell me!
When you've been testing and writing about makeup for as long as I have, and when you've gotten progressively dryer and more dehydrated with age, it becomes hard to find a potential Holy Grail foundation. In some cases, it's touted as being "glowy" and "luminous," but the ingredients list contains my skin's ticking time bombs, like alcohol denat. Other times, a product will be promoted as being dry-skin friendly, but when fellow desert faced reviewers test the product, they point out that it only works for them if they pack on moisturizer, oil, and setting spray.
I'm not judging, by the way, because if you're dry skinned, those sorts of products are your primer. But if you have to layer and layer and layer to get something to look halfways decent? Then I'm likely not going to get much use out of it.
But I've heard so much hype around the Koh Gen Do Aqua foundation. And while I didn't have an out-of-the-bottle shade match with their Moisture foundation, I thought the formula was beautiful, a rare glowy treat for very dry skin. Thankfully, Koh Gen Do offers sample packs of their foundations with free shipping, so I grabbed the full range and settled in for the test. If you decide to grab a full size of this foundation, you'll get one ounce for $62 in a glass bottle with a pump.
Natural light on top, flash on bottom. From left to right: Koh Gen Do Aqua in 012 and 113, NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia, and MAC Full Coverage in NW10.
Straight off the bat, this is another Koh Gen Do foundation that doesn't have a match for me out of the bottle. The lightest shade, 012, has strong pink undertones, and the lightest yellow shade, 113, is at least one full shade too dark for me. Since my yellow undertones aren't too pronounced, I decided to do my first round of testing with 012.
This foundation has a very thin, runny texture. I detected a very faint botanical-type smell, which I think is coming from some of the ingredients; it's not especially strong and I couldn't smell it after application.
One layer of this foundation applied with a buffing brush gave me solid medium coverage. It went on easily without streaking. I was a little surprised by how matte this looked on me, however, since so many dry skinned people claim this product is their ride or die foundation, and because Koh Gen Do's website claims it will give you "youthful appearing dewy skin." In all fairness, I am not "slightly dry" or even "dry"; I am very dry and rather dehydrated. A lot of products that look glowy on others go satin or matte on me.
That said, it also looked a bit flaky around the driest parts of my face--here's a macro shot of my jaw area to show you. It's absolutely not the worst I've ever experienced, and it was only obvious if got close to my face, but it's still worth mentioning. I did get a bit of settling in to my fine lines as well, but again, it was slight and you had to be close to see it. Overall, I'd say it has a very skin-like quality to it.
I think one of the reasons so many dry skinned people enjoy this is because it's comfortable. If you have parched skin, you know how easy it is for beauty products to leave you feeling itchy, or like your face is a piece of cellophane pulled taut across your skull. Koh Gen Do Aqua doesn't give me that feeling it all. It's completely weightless and very comfortable.
Here's the time lapse photos. As you can hopefully see, this wears pretty well throughout the day. I did notice the foundation breaking down a bit on my nose at the 3 hour mark, and it had worn off by the 5 hour mark. I still think you could use this if you're somewhat oily-skinned, provided you added in a primer and/or some powder. I also got dryer throughout the day, which resulted in the foundation being visibly flaky along my jaw and in my fine lines, but you can't really tell in these photos.
That's the other thing about this foundation: it photographs beautifully. Don't get me wrong, it looked nice in real life, but it didn't look quite as sterling as it does in this 5 hour picture. This may be due to the microshimmer in this foundation, because yes, it has microshimmer. I thought I was going crazy the first time I tried it; then I noticed it on the second, third, and fourth trial run. It's extremely fine and can only be seen up close in bright-ish light, yet it still irks me a little. I hate the possibility of looking all-over sparkly.
As a side note, while this is definitely too pink for me, it did not oxidize. My skin looks a little lighter in the picture on the left because there was daylight coming through the windows when I took it, whereas the second and third picture only have the camera flash for lighting.
The second time I tested shade 012, I applied it with a damp Beauty Blender for my Glossier Black Tie Set Review/Anti-Haul post. This gave me lighter coverage, which I prefer, but I don't think it made it look that much less matte. I used plenty of finishing spray on this day to make my skin look and feel less parched.
I concluded that while the depth of 012 is just about right for me, it's way too pink. I can't get away with it. Hence, I bumped up to 113 for my next two applications, mixing roughly 2 parts Koh Gen Do Aqua with 1 part NYX Pro Foundation Mixer in White. This gave me a shade I'd peg between NC10-15: darker than my neck, lighter than my face, which is usually what I strive for.
This shot ended up being weirdly cropped, as you can tell, but I think it shows you the color and the finish better than the previous photos. Notice that the foundation is very skin-like, but yes, rather matte and a tad dry on my face. This is even with a layer of Too Faced Hangover primer underneath and plenty of Clinique Moisture Surge spray on type. By the end of the night, it was nearly as dry and flaky as all of my other trial runs. I just don't see this looking dewy or even satin on dry skin without a damn impressive skincare routine to back it up.
That doesn't sound too bad, though. No, I would never recommend this product over the Moisture foundation if you are very dry skinned, and in fact, this has inspired me to revisit the Moisture foundation and fiddle with the yellow shades. But if you are dry to combination, slash, you have a prep routine that really works for you, you'd still probably enjoy this foundation. It's comfortable, skin-like, and easy to use. What's not the love?
I'll tell you what's not to love: the shade range. The fucking shade range.
ETA: Somebody on Makeup Alley asked for a version of these swatches with an updated white balance, so I produced it below. I hope it's helpful!
Here's the full range, swatched in the order Koh Gen Do has them listed on their website. You have three shades with strong pink undertones (012, 002, 013), three shades with neutral-to-yellow undertones (113, 123, 143), and one olive shade (213). 143 is the darkest thing they've got...and it's not that dark. As proof, here's a photo of someone wearing 143 from their Instagram:
That's it. That's the darkest they've got. Compare that to their Moisture foundation, which admittedly had only 8 shades when I first tested it, but has since added 4 deep shades for a total of 12. It's still a small range, but it stretches much further. For reference--and again, I'm using their own Instagram--here's a model wearing their lightest yellow shade in the Moisture foundation, 112:
Now, you might want to defend Koh Gen Do because they eventually got their shit together with the Moisture foundation, slash, they're originally an Asian beauty brand. But I'm not buying that. Aqua was around when I tried the Moisture foundation with its initially shitty shade range, and yet they haven't updated it. Furthermore, this brand has been available on the western market for quite some time now, and they've been selling in Sephora for at least 2 years. It's beyond aggravating that their range stops at "kinda sorta tan."
If it seems like I'm especially tough on Koh Gen Do...well, I am, because for better or worse, I hold them to a higher standard. They create products with formulas that tend to be leagues above the rest, and for that, I don't mind paying a little extra for them. But if they really want to be competitive on the western market, and more importantly, if they want to do those beautiful formulations justice? They have to work on a better shade range.
At the end of the day, shitty shade range or no, Koh Gen Do Aqua won't be a unicorn for me. I might, however, have better luck with the Moisture foundation this time, seeing as I'm armed with a workable white mixer. If you're very dry skinned, you'll probably want to join me on the Moisture foundation side of things. If you're not especially dry, you match one of the few available shades, and you're looking for something that provides light to medium coverage, feels weightless, and looks like skin, you may prefer Koh Gen Do Aqua. Personally, I'll be taking a pass on that full bottle.
I try to keep my chill when it comes to makeup, and I think I'm usually very successful. I've learned not to panic over missing limited edition releases and, in most cases, to move on to something new when my old standard is outdated or discontinued. But sometimes, companies do the unthinkable: they discontinue a product that is miles above anything else I've tried. It's a 5 star product with no readily available alternative...and they get rid of it!
In other words, this is a post that's all about me throwing tantrums. :D
Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Eyeshadow-- I'm not an eyeshadow person, but these babies? Wow. If you want your eyelids to look like pure metal, these liquid shadows are the way to go. I noticed that these were being phased out of Sephora earlier this year, but I figured it was just a market issue: most people who buy Josie Maran at Sephora seem interested in the skincare more than the makeup. Then I noticed that the Josie Maran website only lists one color, a green that would admittedly take a bit longer to sell out than the neutrals. I've tried a number of liquid and cream eyeshadows, and there isn't a single one that manages to be as frosted as these without a speck of obvious glitter. A small part of me hopes that they're just redoing the packaging, since the applicators are notorious for snapping off.
YSL Creme de Blush -- Throughout 2015, there were rumors that YSL was discontinuing this delicious mousse-textured blush and replacing it with a new formula. I ignored them because, really, if they were going to get rid of these little pots of perfection, they had to be coming out with something even better! Nope, they came out with a liquid formula that's okay, but not for me, and definitely not a replacement for the original Creme de Blush. (There isn't even a color dupe for Creme de Blush #9 Babydoll. Trust me, I looked.) How could anything compare? Creme de Blush #9 in Babydoll is shockingly pink in the pan, yet the color is so clean that it manages to look gorgeous and natural on fair skins. The texture is so light and smooth, it feels like blending air on your cheeks. Seriously, YSL, you had a homerun here.
Prescriptives Counters -- This is going to seem a little petty because you can still get most of the products in the Prescriptives range. Still, I must sniffle, "I miss going to the Prescriptives counter." Part of this is deeply routed nostalgia, because when I was growing up, Prescriptives had one of the only counters my mother would visit and spend her hard-earned money on. The sales associates were always helpful, and they really took their time customizing eyeshadow palettes and foundations for every customer. I know their products are available online, and they even do a custom foundation blending service, but I miss the counter *magic. (SHE'S GOT PUNS!)
Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Moist Glow Packaging -- Look, I get that brands sometimes have to shake things up and come up with more exciting or more functional packaging. I was one of the many people who complained about Urban Decay's less-than-operable lipstick and liner tubes prior to their recent redos. But I'm a little miffed when a company exchanges a really nice packaging design with something less functional because of aesthetics. The Creamy Moist Glows have gone through two packaging changes in a relatively short period of time. Originally, they were housed in tiny screwtop jars a la the Sensual Skin Enhancer, which is just an awful packaging style for a blush--you can't get your brush inside of it, slash, the fact that you can't really keep your finger flat means you'll get blush under your nails and waste it. I loved the newly-designed circular compacts, which had a fantastic mirror and a tight snap closure. The round design didn't last long, though, because the brand decided to make all of the packaging uniform squares and rectangles. The new packaging isn't terrible, but it now has a push closure, so your product isn't as safe. I've actually had a newer blush compact open up in my bag because something pushed up against the gold bar.
(maybe)Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Matte Powder Foundation -- Recently, I've received a few blog comments and emails asking about this long-standing favorite of mine. "Hey, Renee, do you know--is the D&G powder foundation being discontinued?" Apparently, the foundation is disappearing from some websites, slash, only a few shades are available at certain retailers. This made my blood pressure spike a bit, no lies; it took me years to find a setting powder that would both match me and look so skin-like on my dry skin. I found the full range at Nordstrom, so I'm not too freaked out yet. But rest assured, D&G: if you discontinue this powder, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the over-dramatic beauty blogger in the corner.
Several weeks ago, my mom came home from a shopping trip with two cellphone holders. One was black and white with pink trim, the other was blue and yellow striped. She asked which one I'd want, and I immediately grabbed the blue one. "I figured you'd pick that one," she said, "because you absolutely hate pink."
I thought she was exaggerating. I mean, look at my beauty collection: tons of pink lipsticks, a few pink containers and hair clips, and several lemmings for soft pink eyeshadows. I've watched plenty of movies in which the heroine wears a pink outfit I think is just fabulous. I have friends who look great in pink. There's even pink furniture at the antique store that makes me say, "Oh, that's pretty." I like pink just fine! I'm not biased!
But yesterday, when we went to Goodwill, I immediately nixed every shirt with a hint of pink in it. I grabbed blue, yellow, and of course, plenty of black...but anything pink was pushed to the side.
Part of my issue, I think, is that I don't think pink is particularly flattering on me. I've owned a few pink shirts in my lifetime, and the one that really sticks out in my memory is a Marilyn Monroe t-shirt. The screen-printed starlet wore her famous, almost-fuchsia dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and the shirt fabric was the color of sugary bubblegum. I remember that the shirt was a gift, so I wore it a few times. But it never felt right on me. The color was just so bright and so not-me that I felt like the center of attention every time I wore it. Eventually, the pink Marilyn t-shirt was donated to the Salvation Army, and I filled my collection with tons of black.
Pink has also become associated with femininity, at least in white western culture. This is an interesting association when you consider that pink clothing was the top choice for baby boys less than a hundred years ago; the justification was that pink is a lighter shade of red, a traditionally masculine shade. Prior to World War II, baby girls were often clothed in yellow or pastel green, which are the current "gender neutral" color options.
A lot of people don't believe me when I mention the above facts, but they're true. Pink is not inherently "girly"; that association is rather new. Yet our culture insists on maintaining this arbitrary gender segregation re: color. For example: my sister enjoys going to baby clothing stores to look for stuff to sell on eBay. Last year, I ran in to a former coworker who was expecting a baby girl. I mentioned that a dark pink pair of boots she'd selected was rather cute.
"Well, you'd only put that on a girl," the coworker said.
I shrugged. "They're just shoes. I don't think they have to go on a girl."
I'll never forget the co-worker's expression. I mean, there was very visible disgust on her face, as if I'd mentioned doing some kind of harm to children. "You'd let your son walk around in pink?" When I shrugged again, she turned away from me, clearly perturbed. I myself was rather irritated by her reaction, so I wandered off to read the children's books. (And I might've bought one or two for my personal collection. Go ahead, judge me.)
Pink elicits these strong reactions in people. And those strong reactions highlight how we favor what is considered "masculine" over "feminine;" clearly, we think it's less desirable to be "like a woman." Most people are fine with dressing a girl in, say, a cute blue playsuit or a dress, but put a little boy in pink, and you're apparently setting him up for failure. But why? It's just a color! Even if it's associated with femininity, what's so bad about that? Why is it okay for women to be tomboys, to project so-called masculine traits, and to wear things associated with men, but the reverse receives naught but scorn?
Babies don't even realize what you're putting on them, and children only become aware of our culture's gendered expectations when we reinforce them. It's society, not nature, that decides what clothing is "appropriate" for different people to wear. (If it was "natural" for girls to wear skirts, for instance, the ancient Egyptians would've painted the walls of their tombs very differently.) So why reinforce them? Why not let people wear what they want, with no preconceptions as to whether or not certain things make you "feminine" or "masculine"?
So I suppose, in many ways, my aversion to pink has more to do with how much cultural constructs, and our blind attachment to them, get on my nerves. I may continue to wear mostly-black because it's easy and I lack fashion sense, but in the meantime, pink doesn't deserve my misguided hate.
I read Memoirs of a Geisha when it first came out (against my mother's wishes, since I was young-ish at the time and the novel contains a bit of sexin') and truly enjoyed it. In fact, I still enjoy it, and I've re-read the novel about a dozen times. It's beautifully written and is one of the only modern novels to feature geisha living in their own world, and I appreciate that.
But even in my youthful years, I knew that the novel was not an entirely accurate depiction of the geisha lifestyle: I'd already purchased Liz Dalby's seminal book Geisha with my birthday money. I didn't get too upset about it, because I knew this was fiction, and I knew that, if somebody's interest in the "Flower and Willow World" was sparked by the novel, they'd probably seek out more information and go on their own journey of discovery. I'm an English teacher; I'm big on "journeys of discovery."
I was a bit wary, though, about the film adaptation. Books tend to inspire people to read other books. I haven't really noticed the same thing happening with films; rather, I see the opposite--viewers see it in a film and take it at face value. Still, I looked forward to the adaptation and the beauty it would bring to the silver screen.
Look at the makeup in the top 3 images, which is from the film Memoirs of a Geisha. Then compare it to the makeup in the bottom 3 images, which are pictures of actual, modern-day maiko (apprentices) and geisha. Notice anything?
The makeup they used for the film is so hideous, it pains me. They were supposedly trying to make the film more "modern" (and possibly more palatable for a western audience, which irritates me on principle). What they actually did was make these beautiful women look like goddamn idiots. They painted their faces white, but it's a sheer white, and it makes them look sickly. Real geisha do not fill their entire lips in with lipstick and instead draw on a smaller, rounder shape, because filling in your entire lip when your face is stark white looks...well, look at Zhang Ziyi's face in the very first image. And as you can see in the images of actual geisha, there's much more red going on around the brows and eyes, all designed to draw attention to your features. They didn't do that in the film. Instead, they tried to make it "modern," which makes zero sense when your story is set in the 1930s.
A lot of my friends rolled their eyes when I complained about the makeup in the film until they saw pictures of actual geisha. "Well, the real stuff looks so much more beautiful and flattering," they admitted.
Vintage image of geisha sleeping on raised pillows to protect their coiffures.
They also agreed with me that some of the other "we're gonna ignore this aspect of geisha culture that's clearly mentioned in the novel" moments are weird even if you know zilch about geisha culture. My favorite example: the hair. They supposedly gave each character in Memoirs of a Geisha a different sort of hair style to emphasize their personality. Alright, that's an understandable dseign choice. But...the film also shows our heroine, Sayuri, in immense pain as wax and hot oil are brushed through her hair. Then they show her learning how to sleep on the raised pillow geisha would use to prevent their hair from getting messed up. Despite showing all of this, we regularly see every geisha character in the film with her hair up, then down, then up, then down, as if she were traipsing off to the hair dresser every night.
"I don't get it," my one friend asked. "Why are they waxing her hair in to place and making her sleep on that weird pillow if she's just gonna wash it every morning?"
"Am I supposed to believe that they're going to this hair dresser every freaking day?" another friend asked. "Because it looks like they have a lot of other shit to do."
Yeeeeeah. I had no logical explanation for those questions, and the filmmakers don't, either.
Now that I've ranted and complained about the authenticity that I knew wasn't going to be there in the first place, let me clarify that I am not inspired by the faux geisha makeup in the film. I'm actually inspired by the "everyday," out of geisha makeup they applied to the characters. It's flawless, but never heavy. Impressive, given some of the intensely-pigmented products that were used!
Our three lead actresses: Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi. The normally so-gorgeous-it-hurts Gong Li looks drawn and terrible with that sheer white makeup on her face, but the natural makeup we see here on the other two women is, again, goooorgeous. I love the subtle eyeliner on Michelle Yeoh.
More of the beautiful skin emphasized throughout the film. I also enjoyed Yuki Kudo's World War II era makeup. I get that it was supposed to make her look "overdone" compared to the other women, but I think it's really flattering on her, especially the smoky gray eyes.
Ah, there's a better image of Gong Li! What an unfair human being. Interestingly, they used a more neutral palette on her, while Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh had rosier colors blended in to their lips and cheeks. The skin is always glowing and healthy looking.
To finish off this post, here's my winter Lemmings Board! I originally intended to do these monthly, buuuuuut they're turning out seasonal. My bad. :(
1. Tony Moly Peach Anti-Aging Hand Cream, $6.50 on eBay -- East Asian beauty products sometimes get a bad wrap for being pretty to look at, but poorly made. I have to disagree with this assessment; the Asian beauty industry has its duds like any other, but there are some real gems hiding in that cute packaging. Take the Tony Moly hand creams. I've tried and enjoyed the orange one; now my interest is peaked by this peach version, which contains SPF30. Always apply sun protection to your hands, kids!
2. Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Raven, $28 at Sephora -- Yes, I'm still going on about these things, and yes, I'm still lusting after Raven! This is the last shade in the current line-up that I really, reeeeally want, because hello! Warm red! I think it'll be the product I wanted ColourPop Frenchie to be.
3. RMS Beauty Uncover Up in 00, $36 at RMS Beauty -- Advertised as both a concealer and a foundation, based on your aesthetic, I'm thinking this incredibly emollient product would be best used as a spot/undereye concealer. The 00 shade looks relatively pale and neutral-yellow, which is right up my alley, and I've been impressed by this brand so far.
4. Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask, $26 at Sephora -- Do I have plenty of thick, moisturizing lip balms? Yes. Could I probably get the same results from rubbing pure lanolin on my lips? Probably. Do I want to try this stuff anyway? You betcha.
5. Guerlain Shalimar Perfume, $150 at Nordstrom -- I've tested and enjoyed many of Shalimar's incarnations and flankers: Pure Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Parfum Initial, vanilla-centric, incense-centric, etc. While it's mildly humorous to poke fun at how many different types of Shalimar you can find (and how far some people will go to get every single one), there's no doubting that this is a true classic with a well-deserved cult following.
6. Guerlain Rouge G L'Extrait in M65 Paresse, $51 at Sephora -- Why? WHY?! Why do I want this thing?! I've had zero interest in to the Rouge G line until about a week ago, when I decided to give them a closer look via Google Image search. Maybe it's just the hype that's getting me interesting...
7. Canmake cream blushes (clear/jelly finishes), $9.75 on eBay -- I've tried a number of the Canmake cream blushes, and I've been impressed with their performance overall. Unfortunately, most of the "original" line--the line full of milky pastels that tempt me like crazy--contain shimmer. And I am a major shimmerphobe. :( Enter the "clear finish" blushes. These jelly blushes are pigmented, dewy, and just as long lasting as the regular line, but they never look heavy or overdone. I am OBSESSED with the two shades I have, and I cannot wait to get more! (NOTE: If you're looking to buy the jelly finish, look for "CL" before the shade number.)
8. NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation in Siberia, $48 at Nordstrom (for compact + foundation) -- I oscillate between reeeeally wanting this stuff and having zero interest. I think it's because NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia is one of the few foundations that works for me, shade-wise, but I rarely have the patience for cream foundations. The NARS compact foundation is apparently great for dry skin, which is why it's currently on my lemmings list.
If the title of this post seems a little emphatic, then so be it. Few things in the beauty world gross me out more than people who never, ever clean their brushes, puffs, or other tools. It might seem like a weird thing to be grossed out by if you're a fellow beauty aficionado and grew up in the world of MAC spot cleaner and olive oil cleansing, but the truth is that the overwhelming majority of people who use makeup never clean their brushes. I'm not joking. Ask random people if you can look inside their makeup bag (for science), and if they don't run away screaming "CREEPER!", you're in for a shock.
Now, let's be fair. I don't entirely blame the average consumer for not knowing how to clean their tools because it's not routinely stressed. I've never seen "wash this brush after use" on a product's packaging, and magazines spend most of their time talking about what colors are on-trend, not how to scrub a sponge. But part of me wonders how brush cleansing doesn't pop in to more minds. I mean, it's only logical: you're rubbing something all over your face (which is a collection of oils, moisturizers and toners, bacteria, and skin cells), then rubbing it all over a product you keep around for months at a time, and you go back and forth and back and forth and...you get the picture. I compare it to eating utensils: you wouldn't use the same fork over and over again without washing it, would you?
You might ask, "Why should I worry about cleaning my tools? They work fine!" Well, if you don't clean your tools, chances are your dirty powder puff and gunky foundation brush are causing you a lot of trouble. Here are some examples of what can happen when you use dirty tools:
You might cause a break out or an infection. This is especially true if you're using cream or liquid products, since it's easy for bacteria to fester in moisture, but it can happen with powders, too. Remember that every time a brush touches your face, it's coming in contact with the bacteria, oil, skin cells, and product residue that reside there. When you dip it back in to your makeup, you're giving it a nice place to live.
The color of your products might "change." I've heard horror stories from friends at makeup counters. Case in point from a friend who worked at MAC: "I had a customer who really loved Studio Fix Fluid. One day, she came to the counter looking very upset and demanded to speak to a manager. She claimed that her new bottle of NC20 was much darker than it was supposed to be, and there must've been a manufacturing error. I asked her if she was using a clean brush...and she just blinked at me. She had the brush in her bag and she showed it to me. She'd never cleaned it. NEVER. So she had years' worth of product stuck in the bristles, and the bacteria and old foundation was smearing in to her face every time she applied SFF with that brush. That's what was making her foundation look darker: the old, oxidized, bacteria-filled foundation stuck in her brush."
You could ruin your products. This is especially obvious with powder products. The oils from your face can "seal" your powders, meaning they'll get a hard, often shiny layer on top that has to be scraped off with a rough tool. Beyond the fact that sealing is gross, it also leads to wasted product.
Now that I've got that off of my chest, here are some personal recommendations for keeping your tools clean.
BRUSHES
The most popular (and most readily dirtied) tool is definitely The Brush. This includes all types of brushes: foundation, eyeshadow, brow, spoolie...if it has bristles, we're gonna clean it. I personally clean my brushes once a week unless:
I haven't used them at all AND they were already washed in the recent past (so they're not dirty), or
I used them with a liquid or cream product (so they need washed after each use).
The #1 best brush cleaner has to be Dr. Bronner's Bar Soap. Beyond the fact that it's very effective and easy to store, it's also dirt cheap. My current bar has lasted me well over a year and is barely 1/3 gone: that's $5 well spent, in my opinion.
Washing your brushes with Dr. Bronner's is easy. First, moisten the brush bristles with lukewarm water, making sure you tilt the brush down; this prevents water from getting in to the ferrule and loosening up the glue. Then, rub the moistened brush in to the Dr. Bronner's. It will foam up and be dirt-free in mere seconds. If desired, you can rub the brush bristles in the palm of your hand to spread out the soap. Rinse the brush. Squeeze out excess water. Lay the brush on a flat surface, preferably with the bristles hanging over an edge to facilitate faster drying. In my experience, even the densest brush will be dry within 4 hours.
That's it. That's all there is to it.
NOTE: My brushes are all synthetic hair, partially because they're what I prefer and partially because I think they're easier to clean. Natural hair brushes may require special care. Contact the manufacturer and/or take special precaution when washing natural-hair brushes.
SPONGES
I prefer to use sturdy, reusable sponges like the Beauty Blender over disposable sponge wedges because they're less wasteful. The only downside is that they're a sponge, meaning they soak everything up...including bacteria. They need cleaned often, especially if you're soaking them in water to sheer out product. For reference, I clean my powder sponges (like this white D&G sponge) every couple of my months, and my liquid/cream product sponges (like the pink Beauty Blender) after every use.
My sponge cleaning method is very similar to my brush cleaning method: dampen the sponge, rub it in the bar of soap, rub it in the palm of my hand, rinse, squeeze out excess water. The only real difference with sponges is that they hold more water than a brush, so you'll need to rinse-and-squeeze and several times. I also wrap my sponges in a towel and squeeze to get out every last bit of moisture. Then I lay them on that same towel to dry.
POWDER PUFFS
Powder puffs are constantly in contact with your powders and the oils on your face, meaning they have to be pretty clean to prevent sealing. But their fluffy-wuffy nature means that you can't just wash them. Yes, friends, you'll have to just replace the whole puff. You can get cheap puffs that fit most powder compacts from Eyes Lips Face (pictured above) and CoverGirl.
I personally replace my powder puffs about every 3 months, or whenever the bottom of the puff is visibly covered in product. I've never had a problem with sealing.
LASH CURLER PADS
How often you replace your lash curler pad is really going to depend on when you use your curler. If you like to use your curler after you've applied mascara and eyeliner, you're going to get a lot of sticky residue on the pad, which can yank out your lashes or even cause an infection. It's fine to use your curler after you apply your eye makeup, but you'll need to wipe off the pad with a q-tip or baby wipe after each use, and you'll want to replace the pad every few months.
If you're like me and you use your lash curler before you apply makeup, you won't get as much gunk on the pad. But it's still going to come in contact with your delicate eyes, so you want it to be clean. Also, lash curler pads can deteriorate and lose their "bounce" after many uses. I occasionally wipe off my lash curler pad with a baby wipe, and I replace the pad every 6 months or so.
NOTE: most brands sell replacement lash curler pads; for example, here are the pads for my Shiseido curler. If your brand doesn't sell the pads separately, do a Google search for pads that are a similar shape and size. My Shiseido pads, for example, should fit the infamous Shu Uemura lash curler as well.
HANDS
Yes, your hands count as tools, and yes, they should be very very very clean when you put on your makeup! A lot of people don't believe me, but clean hands really can make a difference. I used to make YouTube tutorials, and I made a big deal of washing your hands at the start of every one. Without fail, I'd get at least one snarky comment in response, ie, "Ooooooh, I did this and didn't wash my hands! Oooooh, the world's gonna end, ooooooh!"
Then, a few videos later, the same snarky commenter would ask how I keep my skin so nice. Really? Really.
Use whatever soap floats your fancy, but I recommend an antibacterial one over something designed to be moisturizing or look pretty on your counter. The family favorite is Dial bar soap. Also, make sure you use it long enough to really kill bacteria: rub your soapy hands together for about 15-20 seconds before rinsing. If you're having trouble keeping time, just go through your ABCs.
I'm also a huge fan of using my hands like a painter's palette. Instead of dipping my fingers in and out of a pot of product multiple times, I'll scoop out a small amount with a spatula or a clean finger, smear it on the back of my hand, and work from there.
Lastly, I keep baby wipes around. I use these to wipe excess product off of the back of my hands, and to "spot clean" my fingers and brushes.
My skin was a bit of a mess this past week, so I took a few days away from makeup to let it heal. This past weekend marked the first time I painted my face in 6 days! Eek!
I decided that, since I'd been makeup-free for a while, I should get back in to it with one of my favorite things: a red lip. Hilariously, I decided to purge this shade--Bite Beauty HPP in Pomegranate--after putting it on. It's GORGEOUS, and I recommend it constantly, but I don't think it's as suited to my tastes as, say, the Hourglass liquid lipsticks. (Are you guys sick of hearing about that formula yet? Come to think of it, has Hourglass hired me to promote this lipstick line yet?) It'll be sent off to a better home. :)
Then I decided to try Urban Decay's Midnight Cowboy eyeshadow for the first time in years. And I remembered why I haven't worn it for years: the glitter fallout is INSANE. I ended up looking like a four year old who'd gone crazy with a glitter crayon. UUUGH.
BASE: MAC Strobe Cream, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin
Enhancer in Sx01, Dolce & Gabbana powder foundation in 50 Ivory, Skindinavia setting spray
EYES: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in RSVP, Urban Decay eyeshadow in Midnight Cowboy, Catrice eyeshadow in Starlight Espresso [D/C], Wet n'
Wild eyeshadow in Brulee, Shu
Uemura brow pencil in Seal Brown, L'oreal Miss Manga mascara, Maybelline Full n' Soft mascara, Milani Liquid Eyes pencil in Black
CHEEKS: Scott Barnes Chic Palette in Posh [D/C]
LIPS: Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil in Pomegranate
Please note that there is no top image for this post. That's because the lipstick I was going to toss in to this challenge, MAC Please Me, was recently stolen from me. What had happened was...I took a bag containing several personal items, including some makeup, into the bathroom at work on Wednesday. I wasn't feeling well and I was a bit out of it, so I forgot the bag in the bathroom. Right before my class, I realized the bag was missing; I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. Nobody has returned the bag or contacted me (my information was inside). So they made off with a lot of personal items, including my MAC Blot Powder, my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (an HG product)...and, I realized today when I reached for them and came up empty, my MAC Please Me lipstick and my Bobbi Brown Tutu gloss.
I was so upset, I almost cried on the spot. I don't say this because I want you to pity me and send me free things--my life is not that hard, and I always tell people to donate their money to worthwhile charities instead--but rather because it was a moment when I felt incredible pain. I don't make a lot of money, and these were items I'd worked hard for. And because most people aren't as pale as I am, I sincerely doubt that the thief will even be able to use what they stole. They stole that bag probably thinking there was money in it, and when they checked and realized it was just personal items, they probably...well, they might've used some of the stuff, but it's more likely that they just chucked my hard work in to a dumpster.
But I decided, "I am NOT going to let this person defeat me." I put on UD Native instead. And I realized that I truly, truly love this lipstick, even more than the Please Me/Tutu combination. I am not a vengeful person, but I am honest. Here's the truth: selfish, greedy people always get their comeuppance. And I will look flawless, no matter how much of my stuff you steal.
BASE: MAC Face & Body in N1 + White, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx02, Dolce & Gabbana powder foundation in 50 Ivory
EYES: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Makeup Forever Aqua Cream in #02, Wet n' Wild Comfort Zone palette, Wet n'
Wild eyeshadow in Brulee, Shu
Uemura brow pencil in Seal Brown, CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara, Anastasia clear brow gel
CHEEKS: Scott Barnes Chic Palette in Posh [D/C]
LIPS: Urban Decay Revolution lipstick in Native
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In other news, my skin has changed a good deal over the past 6 months or so. I think it's a mixture of aging, hormones, and stress. I'm experiencing lots of tiny bumps on my forehead (I think they're clogged pores), more sensitivity and acne, and a much oilier t-zone than I previously did. So I've been slowly switching out my products to figure out what might be causing the change in texture; namely, I've replaced konjac sponges with baby washcloths (because the latter are washable), and I've started using my mother's CeraVe PM cream. I'll try to keep you guys posted!
