555

It's my five hundred and fifty fifth post, y'all! That is...hard to believe. What on earth have I found to talk about for 555 posts? How have I managed to stick with this for so long? And why on earth do you all keep reading?! So many questions. But also, YAY! I've been looking forward to this day ever since I hit 500, because 5 is one of my favorite numbers, and I love palindromic numbers, and 555 is SO MANY POSTS YOU GUYS WHAT THE HELL.

Excuse me while I go hyperventilate in a corner. Here's some pictures of recent EOTDs to distract you.

Brown and Blue

Wet N Wild Comfort Zone bottom right shade in the crease and on lower lashline
Tarina Tarantino Fantastical right shade on inner lid
Inglot 415 patted on center of lid
Maybelline Full N Soft mascara

MAC Fever Blush Review and Swatches

A while back, I posted a bunch of bright blushes that had caught my eye. In the comments, Toya recommended MAC Fever as another option, and after seeing Rae's review, I was sold. Imagine my delight when it appeared on Beyond the Rack, where I had a $10 credit (I have no idea how that happened, but awesome) which covered shipping, so I ended up snagging it for 20% off. Hooray!

funky white balance is funky, but the blush color is correct

Oscars

My mother and I attended an Oscars viewing party at a local movie theater, and dressed up for the occasion. We were definitely the most decked out of the people there, but we had a great time! We both wore our minks (purchased at antique stores for a pittance; I got mine when I was 8, because why not start being classy when you're young?) and rocked red lipstick: I wore Chanel Dragon (over Revlon Red lip liner), and my mother wore Dior Rouge Favori. There were a number of celebrities who brought out the red lipstick, including Jessica Chastain and Adele (post-singing), but I think more chose to go with nude-ish lip shades. I figure, there's no better time to trot out the designer reds than for an awards show!

And look at that sunshine!!!

And one more bonus shot of me alone––I didn't get the chance to take any close-up photos, but I was also wearing MAC Fever on my cheeks and Urban Decay Rollergirl on my eyes, with Dior Diorshow Extase on my lashes.

Did you do anything exciting for the Oscars?

30 Days: Day 17

Welp, it's been about 15 years since I posted one of these, but I'm more than halfway through, so I might as well keep chugging along (really, really slowly. Like zombie sloth slowly). Today's question:

If you could only have 5 products, what would they be? Because this is my blog and I get to decide the arbitrary rules, this does not include skincare. Or brushes. Or things like toothbrushes and shampoo and deodorant. And definitely not perfume, because trying to decide that would give me a heart attack. I have at least 10 times that (probably more like 20 or 30, even more if you count nail polish), but if I were forced/inspired to get rid of everything but the absolute bare-bones staples, I would be left with:

February Birchbox

This took foreverrr to get to me, because I guess Birchbox doesn't love those of us on the West Coast? Sigh. Contained within:

Um, whee?

Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate with Caramel: I would be more enthused with this if a) this weren't a beauty box, because as much as I love chocolate, it's not exactly beauty-related (if this were dark chocolate, there would be more of an argument for that thanks to antioxidants, etc., but it's not), not to mention I have to take friggin' lactase to eat it, and b) I hadn't recently eaten a bunch of the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels from Ghirardelli, which are way better and have much less dairy. $4.25/10 squares, 1 square = $.43
Color Club Wild Cactus mini: Cute, but it's a cream finish, which are not my favorite. It is nicely spot-on for the Pantone Color of the Year, though, a nice bluey emerald. Can't say it's a color I'll reach for often, but it's nice to actually have something "color of the year". $8/0.5 oz, 0.25 oz mini = $4

Quick Review: Becca Beach Tint in Raspberry Review and Swatches

I made myself a little sample of Becca's cult favorite Beach Tint in Raspberry when I was in California because I thought it would be a nice way to a) experience the hype, b) add a non-powder blush to my life, and c) try something purpley and vibrant!

Becca Raspberry Beach Tint, via Sephora

Tag! You're It

The wonderful Larie tagged me to do this little survey, and of course, I obliged :) (And not just because it's a post that doesn't require photos, though that is definitely a bonus, ha!) Without further ado, here are my answers to the questions she posed:

1. Favorite lipstick of all time. (Or just right now. I know we're fickle.)
Oh dear, this is hard. I might say Shiseido Nymph, though I feel like that might not be true...I like them all, okay? It depends on my mood. And what else I'm wearing. Right now, I guess I could go for Dior Rouge Favori, but that could change. So I'm going to go to the next question before it does.

2. What album/band/song have you been listening to lately?
Florence and the Machine! I don't actually tend to listen to music all that often; I really should, but I like being familiar with the music I'm listening to (I don't know why, maybe some kind of novelty anxiety) and singing along, so it can be challenging to get myself to listen to new things. I know I should! And I know I would enjoy hearing new ones, I just...stress about it. If you have any recommendations for artists you particularly love, let me know and I'll check them out!

Skincare Saturday: Eczema

My skin has been oily and acne-ridden for more than a decade, and is prone to bouts of dryness from product sensitivity, but it's recently added a new grouchiness: eczema! Oh, joy. It first appeared when I used MAC Pro Longwear foundation back in November, developing dry, scaly, itchy, red, bumpy, rough, and flaking (all at once, at its worst) patches along the right side of my jawline and forehead. I tried antibiotic creams (no effect), neosporin (ditto), and hydrocortisone cream (helped somewhat, but not terribly quickly). It gradually went away, and until recently, I only had the occasional dry patch.

Until a couple weeks ago, that is, when some odd combination of factors as-yet not fully identified (but certainly including either Hourglass Mineral Veil or Clarins Smooth Touch primers––possibly both!) caused my skin to freak the eff out. Back came the bright red, itchy, dry patches, with special bonuses on part of my left jaw and my temples. Accompanying this was a terrible case of acne. This is an unfortunate place to be in: the things I would normally use to treat my acne were potentially contributing to my eczema, but the things I might use for the eczema could break me out worse. I ended up opting to treat the eczema and basically left my acne to its own devices for more than a week (it was not a pretty time). I tried various things on the eczema to try and fix it; argan oil wasn't moisturizing enough (I KNOW RIGHT?!), hydrocortisone disappeared quickly, not to mention I didn't want to use it for very long due to potential side effects, and my trusty Amber Cream was powerless in the face of such angry dry patches. Aquaphor just made it angrier, which makes me wonder if I possibly have a sensitivity to something in that.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have a confession: I actually love Valentine's Day. Yes, it's horribly over-commercialized, and I am violently opposed to the consumerist, heteronormative* approach to love it encourages (if you don't get expensive shiny things, he doesn't really love you, ladies––and the receipt of said shiny things obligates you to show your appreciation, puke), but still, I find myself with a skip in my step every Valentine's Day. My family celebrates it, not as a romantic holiday, but as yet another occasion to show each other our love, and I have always enjoyed the sappy cards and chocolates and abundance of red that infuses our house around the holiday. I think the focus on romantic love is a detriment to the holiday, so I hope you take this day to recognize all the loved ones in your life, regardless of what form that love takes.

Taken from the Facebook page of Sweet Life, the local dessert mecca. See why I love Valentine's Day?!

Quick Review: Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Child Review and Swatches

I purchased the Sephora lip favorites before Christmas to give as gifts, but I selfishly kept one for myself: the miniature Hourglass lip gloss in Child, a nude. I wanted to see what it was like formula-wise, and I also hoped it would serve as a good nude lippie.

Fragrance Friday: Solstice Scents, Part 3

More Solstice Scents! This edition covers the leather-centric scents, as well as some random ones that didn't work for me.

The thing I've noticed about Solstice Scents leather scents is that they are really, seriously leather. And incredibly masculine, to my nose. I don't love any of them, in spite of my adoration for several leather perfumes (Guerlain Habit Rouge and Derby, Parfums de Nicolaï New York), I think because these are more concentrated and heavy and leather. That being said, here are my thoughts on the four I've tried.

Devil's Tongue (chypre, leather, tobacco, woods, patchouli, agarwood, sandalwood, frankincense, vanilla, bergamot): Smells like dusty saddles and worn boots and living on a ranch, and none of those are things I want to smell like. I can see it being awesome on a dude, or on a woman who likes super masculine scents, but it's not quite for me. You can definitely smell the chypre-ness of it, though! (from the Autumn Collection)

Fun with Eyeshadow

The boy has a thing for colorful eyeshadow, which is nice, because I do, too! As today is his birthday, I figured it was a good time to share some of the more exciting eye looks I've done recently. As mentioned before, weekends are, for me, eyeshadow funtimes. I have the time to do colorful looks, and don't need to worry about looking semi-professional for teaching (of course, a quick look at my Manicure Mondays shows that the appearance of professionalism is not foremost on my mind, ha!). But color is fun! Even if it mostly gets lost behind my glasses, sigh.

Look 1: Blue Smoky
I wanted to do a smoky eye, but wasn't ready to take the plunge into black-based smokiness, so I decided to do something colorful instead!

Subtle FOTD

I like to play with makeup on the weekend, when I have time to do fun things. Recently, I decided to try a smoky eye in couches de couleurs style (see Messy Wands for what it's all about!). It didn't end up quite as well as I'd hoped, but I had fun with it!

Manicure Monday

Whee, another week's worth of manis!

Zoya Avril (3 coats) with Revlon Girly (1 coat)

Avril is a pretty color, but I'm not in love with it––partly because it's not self-leveling, so I find that it builds up in some places while being sheer in others, even after 3 coats, and partly because it's a creme, and I find creme finish polishes to be generally super boring. I did like the accent nail, though! Girly is really sheer on its own, though it can be built up in 3 coats, but I liked how it looked over Avril (and, as a bonus, I only had to do 2 coats of Avril on my accent nails). I'll be holding on to both of these to use in the future! An unstoppable combo, in spite of it being pink ;)

Becca Radiant Skin Satin Finish Foundation in Shell Review and Swatches

I procured a sample of this from Sephora when I was in southern California for Christmas, along with a few other foundations to try and find one that fit my requirements. The fact that I now have a full bottle of this should tell you the punchline...

February: The Nearly No-Buy Month

There are lots of things I want. Lots. And it's stressing me out, the wanting. I think before I can let myself buy anything new, I need to figure out what I really want, and clear my collection of the things that don't bring me happiness. This includes not just beauty (and perfume! agh, that will be the hardest), but clothing and tea and...everything, really. This month will be an attempt on my part to refocus, step back, and maybe tone down my materialism a bit!

Never fear, though––I have a backlog of products to share with you, and I'm going to be experimenting a lot with my products so hopefully I'll have some fun FOTDs/tutorials. I'm hoping that, by the end of the month, my stash (of makeup, skincare, nail polish, clothing, shoes) will consist solely of things I actually get use out of. The one exception: I'll let myself buy one product from the two Currently Coveting posts linked above, probably either Armani Rouge d'Armani Sheer 602 or one of the Hourglass Ambient Lights powders, because I can't be expected to get through my stats midterm without some reward!

Have you ever done a no-buy? Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all the stuff?