Fun with Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash Royal Blue

I wear foundation/concealer/brows (and to a lesser extent blush) because I think they make me look better, but eyeshadow/liner/lipstick because they're fun. I realized a few weeks ago that mascara, long part of the first group, comes in colors and could therefore become fun, too! So when I found a bunch of the Maybelline Great Lash colored mascaras from last summer at Grocery Outlet for $2.99 apiece, I picked up the blue and teal ones. I've only opened the blue, since I currently have 3 other mascaras in rotation (I don't know how that happened, either), and have been playing around with it. And guys, guess what? It's fun.

this is what fun looks like, y'all.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Review and Swatches

In the process of moving, I sorted through my makeups and got rid of things I don't (at least semi-) regularly use. This included theBalm Nude 'Tude, leaving a brown-neutral (matte) hole in my stash, which I decided to fill with Urban Decay's Naked Basics. (Urban Decay just released Naked2 Basics, which I have not seen in person. It claims to be a cooler-toned version to Naked Basics, but swatches online suggest it doesn't have the same range of depth as the original, so while I love cool-toned neutrals, it's not calling to me particularly strongly.)

Naked Basics is UD's matte companion to the more glitter-tastic full Naked palettes, none of which I own. Basics includes 5 matte shades and one shimmer (Venus), with 3 pale highlighting-type shades. It is definitely not a palette that everyone will find useful (though the denizens of the internet review sites certainly seem to like it), as you have to like mattes and light shades, but I find it to be a very valuable addition to my stash.

Makeup / Beauty / Cosmetics Return Policies by Store

Back in the baby days of the blog, I did a master post of beauty return policies by store. As that was more than 3 years ago (whoaaa), I thought it high time for an update. Many stores haven't changed their policies, but I've included them all here regardless.

Pretty much everywhere will accept returns on orders if the product is damaged or they got the order wrong, so I'm just going to focus on products that didn't work out for whatever reason. Stores followed by a * only accept unused beauty products, though some are "at the discretion of the manager", which is noted as necessary; all others accept used/opened makeup and beauty products. I make note of the following: online vs. in-store purchases, including how long you can return items with a receipt, without a receipt, and what form the refund comes in, as well as any other relevant notes. I've listed them in alphabetical order, with links to the page about returns, if available (some of which are great, and some of which *cough*ULTA*cough* are clearly designed to put you off with the hassle of returning something). I do most of my shopping online, since Eugene is a bit of a wasteland shopping-wise, and it can be hard to find information about returning in-store purchases on stores' websites, so if you have any personal experience returning things you bought in person (especially without a receipt), please let me know! OKAY, LET'S DO THIS.

Fragrance Friday

I've taken to burning candles pretty much continuously since my therapist recommended it as a way to remember my friends who have died. I feel like I should review them, because there's not a lot of candle scent reviews online, but I don't really want to. I purchased the candles in memoriam and very actively didn't try to intellectualize how they smelled. My "goal", if one can call it that, is to find a scent that captures the spirits as I knew them, so even candles that I like the scent of (like Muscari) get only a mediocre response in that regard. That being said, here are some extremely brief summaries of some of the ones I've tried. Maybe they'll help someone. I burned the votive candles of all of these except for Suede Blanc, which was a 2 wick metallo candle; the pictures for each reflect that.

Voluspa Maison Blanc Suede Blanc

Smells like dude cologne or aftershave. It's fine, it's just...not what I was hoping for. The denizens of the internet love it, though. Good throw.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Khaki Review and Swatches

I am almost always late in the morning, because I always want that extra few minutes of sleep and tell myself I'll be speedy enough to make up for it. It's rarely true. In an effort to remedy this (while still getting those precious snoozes, of course), I've been trying to streamline my beauty routine. 

If I were extraordinarily efficient, I could do my whole beauty routine in 15 minutes, but I am not, so it usually takes about 25-30. Eye makeup is often a time eater, since applying/blending eyeshadow can be a challenge when tired and mostly blind, so I decided to cave and finally try one of the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks in the hopes it could be a swipe-and-go kind of product.* I chose Khaki, wanting a versatile but not boring neutral, and owning too many (purpley) taupes to justify Amethyst.

a rather uninspiring picture of the unused product

Dior Addict Lip Maximizer High Volume Lip Plumper Review and Pictures

I'm not really sure what inspired me to purchase this. I don't tend to have need for lip plumpers (a decent lippie formula provides enough moisture to even out any lines), and I'm not really a gloss girl. But still, upon returning my Chanel and Armani lip glosses to Nordstrom (last July, as in 2013. Because I am super behind.) and being asked if I wanted to pick up something else instead, I asked for this, the Dior Addict Lip Maximizer High Volume Lip Plumper. Which is an utterly absurd name, and shall henceforth be referred to as "it" or "this".

Pretty! That brown in the background is the ruins of the Acropolis
at Pergamon, where I discovered that it is a very bad idea to
wear lip gloss in a dusty place on a windy day.

Manicure Monday

GUYS! I DID IT! I finally finished wearing every single one of my polishes. It would have happened sooner if I could have stopped myself from picking up new ones, but...whatever. New Year's resolution DEFEATED. Boom.

This is a pretty massive post, so I'm going to try and keep it short(ish) and sweet(ish). I got gradually less successful at being brief over time...

Sally Hansen Rosy Outlook with Wet N Wild Waves of Enchantment, taped

WoE is sheer, but it's really pretty layered over Rosy Outlook.

Skincare Saturday: Rainshadow Labs AEBG Eye Bright Gel

It's been an eon and a half since I've done a Skincare Saturday, though not for lack of options. Today's feature is another Rainshadow Labs product, their Eye Bright Gel.

squishy!