30 Days: Day 23

We found out today that my grandfather has lung cancer. It's in the very early stages, so we're hopeful that it won't be fatal, but we won't know for sure until after the PET scan, which is yet to be scheduled. The doctor said it's a relatively slow-growing type of cancer, and thus far it seems to be restricted to one place on his left lung, but we'll find out more after further tests. Surgery is almost guaranteed, though probably not within the next month, because stress is fun, right? Right. Those of you who read regularly may already know that I live with my mother and my grandparents, which is great because I get to see them all the time, but being so close does mean that these sorts of things hit close to home (I know, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist). I'll remain hopeful until we get more information; I'm not great at dealing with death, so I'm crossing my fingers that Papa will be around for a nice long while, even if he is 83 years old.

But anyways. Here's some eyeliner, and another post on the way to completing this unending series.

What does your eyeliner collection look like?

Arm swatches of the whole shebang! 2 swipes unless noted otherwise.

Lots of pencils, since with my tremor and general lack of sight without glasses means liquid can be a challenge to get even. That hasn't stopped me from picking up a few cheap liquid liners, but they don't see as much play as my pencils.

30 Days: Day 22

I applied for the Critical Language Scholarship for this summer to study in Turkey, and recently heard that I didn't get it. Not particularly surprising, given how competitive it is, but still. It's never fun to hear you're not good enough for something! So I'm going to make myself feel better by doing the 50 Random Things tag (and making it part of 30 Days, because why not), as seen on Eye Heart It [and Rocaille Writes, though I wrote this before I read hers!]. I'll try not to repeat too many of Larie's, though I may have been primed...LET'S DO THIS.

1. I'm lactose intolerant.
2. But I loooooove dairy. I use lactose-free alternatives when possible, and yogurt with live cultures is okay, but there is no good replacement for cheese. So I buy lactase in bulk from Costco and live with the occasional upset belly.
2. I have a history of nigh-unsolvable illnesses. Migraines in middle/high school due to TMJ, CFS from high school on, and now a very uncooperative digestive tract (IBS, which means "hell if we know why you're in pain!"). Not to mention anxiety and depression of varying degrees...needless to say, I am very pro-medication.
3. I love babies. Like, way more than is normal.
4. I hate birds. Goddamn crows.
5. I teach English to international students. And I love teaching slang!
6. Sushi is fantastic.
7. So is tea.
8. Caffeine upsets my stomach, but I sometimes drink decaf coffee, as it still has some energizing power. Black tea in smaller doses tends to be okay, though.
9. I hate buying clothes. I do most of my shopping online, but even that is somewhat unpleasant. And returning the clothes that don't fit is a pain in the ass.
10. I like music that's upbeat and/or involves harmonicas, banjos, or clapping. Slow, sad music makes me sad, and I don't usually want any help in that department.

30 Days: Day 21

I buckled down and spent the couple hours needed to swatch my eyeshadow collection, in large part for my own benefit, but hey also 30 Days! According to my spreadsheet (you can't go about these things lackadaisically, after all), I have 77 eyeshadows, including cream and those in palettes. Though after doing this swatchathon, I have decided to discard several of them, and if I ever get around to depotting my shadows, yet more may go the way of the dodo. But at this moment in time, here are all of my eyeshadows. Enjoy, I guess?

Key
Guerlain = Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs 06 Les Fumés
Inglot = this post
Sleek = Sleek Original i-Divine Palette; numbers are assigned from left to right, top to bottom (1 = top far left, 7 = bottom far left, 5 = top second from right, etc.)
TT = Tarina Tarantino Jewel Eyeshadow Palette Fantastical
theBalm = theBalm Nude 'Tude, which will be reviewed once I can get past my issues with the packaging (or decide to share my rant with the world, whichever ends up happening first)
TF = Too Faced Natural Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection
UDD = Urban Decay Deluxe Palette, which will be reviewed once I take some pictures of EOTDs using it
UDR = Urban Decay Rollergirl
WNW CZ = Wet N Wild Comfort Zone
All others will be linked in their respective captions; all labels are from left to right.
All swatches are two layers on primed skin, unless otherwise noted, and all pictures are clickable––I uploaded them full size (not the usual 800 pixels), so you can see more detail.

Black

Inglot 391, Sleek 1, theBalm Serious, UDD Zero

Inglot 391 is by far the most pigmented; that's a single swipe of each shadow. Zero is the only one with shimmers. Sleek 1 and Serious both fared quite poorly, but Serious got mostly opaque with a second layer, while Sleek 1 did not (see below); Zero built up nicely, and I didn't add anything to the Inglot because it was not needed.

poor Sleek.

I rarely use black in my eye looks because it's so dramatic against my pale skin, but I should evidently use Sleek 1 if I don't want to overwhelm myself, ha!

30 Days: Day 20

Have you entered the giveaway?! 9 subscriptions, currently only 7 people entered...your chances are good ;) Ends tomorrow!

Only 2 weeks into the term and I am as overwhelmed as during finals. It's gonna be a great quarter, y'all. I'm holding out hope that I'll be able to find wee bits of time for the blog, but I apologize if my posting becomes even more sporadic than usual! For now, though, here's the last of the lippies: the reds! Because I have so many reds. I don't know how that happened. Then again, looking at these swatches, it's coming back to me...

Lipstick Queen Thriller: Very similar in finish and feel to Cosmos (below), but slightly less glossy.
Lipstick Queen Cosmos: Probably my favorite gloss, both because of the color (such a pretty berry-red) and formula (not really very gloss-like at all!). Currently MIA, because I am terrible at keeping track of my things.
L'Oréal Endless Red: Intensely pigmented, shiny, and long-lasting. A true red, very showstopping, and not something I find myself reaching for very often because it's so bold. I love it no less for that!

30 Days: Day 19

Today's lippies: the cool pinks and plums!

Left to right:

Revlon Colorstay Lip Liner in Plum: Got this to wear under Becca Berry Twist because I liked the red one so much. It's warm and brown-leaning, but not too warm for me. On its own, it's a little too dry and tugs, but it applies really nicely over blotted lip-balmed lips and lasts several hours. It also helps even out Berry Twist and extend the wear quite a bit, and is nice under Sugar Plum as well (makes it vampy and last longer).
Prestige Waterproof Lip Liner in Wine: Purchased for the same reason as the Revlon, but I got this one first. I like the shade, a cooler, pinker plum, and the formula is fine; I don't find it as creamy as the Revlon, but it wears well and is about as effective as the Revlon.
Shiseido Nymph: Every time I wear this, I'm reminded how much I like it. It's a lovely neutral rose that gives lips color without being the focus of a look, and the formula is very pleasant, moisturizing and somewhat long-lasting. I prefer the LMdB lip crème formula because Nymph gets a little sticky (on the upside, I never feel the urge to rub my lips together), but the color is gorgeous, and it's still one of the best formulas I've tried.

30 Days: Day 18

Ugh, end of term is upon us and I am swamped, of course. I'll be pretty much a hermit until March 22nd (and then probably MIA through the 25th, as the boy and I are planning to go up to Seattle and hopefully meet up with Larie!). I have a couple of posts mostly ready to go, but I must apologize for my absence, both from here and online in general. I hope you can forgive me!

I'm going to take a page out of Toya's book, and use up a few of the remaining 30 days to boot, by swatching my entire collection. I've swatched my blush before (also as part of 30 days, lolz), but it's been close to a year since then, and my stash has changed somewhat (and while I took photos of all my lippies and eyeshadow, I didn't swatch them). This will also give me a good opportunity to update my stash list, too! Oh, killing so many birds with this one stone. First up: nudes, corals, and warm lippies! (It was sunny today, so I managed to snap swatches of these, but then my arm was stained and I remembered I still had to design an experiment and read a bunch of articles, so I can't promise that I'll be able to swatch much else before the end of the term!)

Left to right:
Revlon Tutti Frutti: Purchased when I was looking for an orange lippie during the year of tangerine (as 2012 shall forever be known in my mind). I wear it once in a blue moon, and has a tendency to apply unevenly due to the sheerness and texture, but it suffices for what I use it for. Also, as I was swatching this, a great big piece fell off the tip and got all smudgy. Lip Butter packaging fail. (And then it happened again with Sweet Tart, because my makeup likes to frustrate me.)
Hourglass Child: Nude! Somewhat drying, but nice to have on hand.
Smashbox Crowned: Peachy nude, which looks really nice on top of warmer lipsticks (particularly Tutti Frutti, to make it a little less orange).

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:

30 Days: Day 16

What's your least favorite part of makeup-ing yourself?

For me, it's brows. My routine involves plucking any stray hairs that I missed in the last round (I usually do full-on plucking at night and strays in the morning), brushing them into shape with a spoolie, applying brow powder (though I do need to get new brow powder at some point, as the one I have is too dark and red––any suggestions for matte brown taupes?) with smudge brush or, more recently, the Real Techniques brow brush, and gelling them in place. The whole process takes less than a minute, but the entire time I bitch to myself about how bored and annoyed I am. That being said, it does make a big difference in helping my face look "finished", so I continue to do it.

Before and after brows

But I'm not happy about it, damnit!

What about you?

30 Days: Day 15

Halfway through the 30 Days series! YAY! Only...9 months left, I'd guess? Also, HOW IS IT ALREADY SEPTEMBER?!

What's in your purse right now?

I love seeing posts from people showing the contents of their bags, so I thought I should do a post on the same! My purse, a gift from L, is very spacious, and I use it as my school bag as well as being my purse, so it's got a lot of stuff in it.

It's also been a few days since I've cleaned out the lip products, so there's quite a stash...

General Purse-Type Stuff

Clockwise from top left:
Glasses cleaning cloth, which came with my glasses
Prescription sunglasses that are, unfortunately, not the right prescription (because I lost those after wearing them once, fml), and I think wearing them for any extended period of time gives me migraines, so I should probably just take them out.
Keychain, which has about a bajillion things on it:

30 Days: Day 14

Are there any brands you refuse to buy from? Why?

I'm just going to discuss beauty brands in this post, though there are certainly clothing brands I stay away from (Abercrombie & Fitch for being racist and horrible, Victoria's Secret for using child slave labor cotton, Forever 21 for wildly underpaying their employees [not to mention blatantly ripping off designers] all come to mind––and whoops, guess I am going to mention non-beauty brands!). After reading about how racist and awful the owner of Bond No. 9 is, I can safely say I will never be buying any of their perfumes, whether full bottle or samples. After reading about the theft of Christine's photographs by e.l.f., I shan't be buying from them again, as much as I like their $3 face brushes. I don't own any Lynnderella polishes, and after reading about that whole drama I can be sure that won't change. I know lots of people don't buy from brands that aren't "cruelty-free" (=no animal testing), which I don't pay much attention to in my own purchasing decisions, but the reveal that some brands were testing in China and didn't publicize that information (spearheaded by PETA, which is a company I loathe, but this article on the topic doesn't seem to be affiliated with them) definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. And Urban Decay's recent flip-flopping on selling in China annoyed me––they'd always been so loud and proud about no animal testing, then they decide they want to expand to China and argue that they can help change the system from within, then when the public response is overwhelmingly negative in the US they decide not to sell in China. *Sigh.*

There are some brands that actually do some good, though. The whole "pink for breast cancer" thing is mostly ineffective, not least because of how far the Susan G. Komen foundation has fallen (somewhat related, every month Planned Parenthood sends the nicest thank you email for my donation. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy), but MAC's Viva Glam line is wonderful, with 100% of the selling price of Viva Glam lipsticks and lipglasses going to the MAC AIDS Fund ($15 apiece, at this point in time), and Avon has the Empowerment Collection, where the net profits (generally around 60% of purchase price)  of certain products are donated to the Avon Foundation and used to fund programs that help women who suffer from domestic violence (they also have a similar program for breast cancer). So it's good to support those companies!

What about you? Are there any companies you steer clear of? Any programs you try to support?

30 Days: Day 13

Whoa, another 30 Days post! Long time no see, bra. I can't believe I have 17 more of these...

Are there any brands that underwhelm you?

This is something that I think about not infrequently in the course of my daily blog reads, and I'm wondering if anyone else does the same! Some brands seem to be really inconsistent, which turns me off big time––MAC and NARS are the ones that particularly come to mind, since it seems like some of their products are amazeballs and others are just plain sucky, with plenty of mediocrity in between, even within the same product range––I have yet to buy a NARS eyeshadow in part because they're expensive, and in part because they seem to be so hit-or-miss! Other brands just seem overpriced for the quality––like Smashbox, Stila, Kat Von D, Pixi. There are, of course, some products from those brands that are well worth the mid-range price, but again, inconsistency is frustrating! Some brands' packaging is overly cutesy or artsy, which is not always a bad thing (I have plenty of love for Benefit, Urban Decay, Too Faced, and theBalm), but I do wish that I didn't have to pay luxury prices for nice packaging (Revlon is one brand that does really, really well in that regard––drugstore prices, but weighty and solid products with pleasant aesthetics). And some high-end brands don't seem to have commensurately quality products––some Chanel and Dior eyeshadows, for example, seem to be lacking in pigment (based on reviews and the one lone Chanel eyeshadow I ever tried), and those same brands' lipsticks aren't always as long-lasting or moisturizing as one would hope for from a product that costs $30+. I realize not every product in a brand's range can be expected to be of great quality, but reliability and consistency is something that I would like to see more of! These same issues apply to drugstore makeup as well, but it annoys me much less there, because the price is so much lower so I'm willing to go to the trouble of researching extensively before purchasing and the hassle of returning something that doesn't work is less, because I have drugstores relatively nearby (10 minutes instead of the 20 minutes for Sephora).

Of course, much of that is based entirely on reading about others' experiences with the brands in question, since I cannot afford to try out everything (especially if I have ambiguous feelings toward the brand!), so perhaps with more exposure my opinions would change.  And the opposite may be true as well––there are several brands that I view very favorably (Le Métier de Beauté, Chantecaille, Armani, Shiseido, Hourglass) that with more experience would lose their luster. And this isn't even mentioning the numerous problems I have with cosmetics advertising, which also factors into my opinion of a brand––that's for another day, though!

What about you? Are there any brands you find yourself turned off by?

30 Days: Day 12

What are your favorite "your [blank] but better" products?

All products mentioned below, minus my normal glasses

I pretty much tend to shoot for "my face but better" when it comes to makeup, so many of my products relate to that! For my face but better, I apply CoverFX ClearPrepFX primer and then put a blend of Revlon ColorStay Ivory 110 and MAC Matchmaster 1 on top. When I need extra coverage, I use Meow concealer in Sleek Siamese, because it matches my skin so well!

30 Days: Day 11

Hey, y'all! I'm writing this (note; the post itself was written awhile ago) from Bandon on the Oregon coast, a lovely little town. My mother and I came for a few days for a much-needed vacation, and so far it has been lovely. I've taken lots of pictures, but unfortunately forgot to bring my camera cord, so a full post will have to wait until I get home, at which point I will also catch up on comments and other blogs. Until then, though, have another 30 Days!

Show us your lippie collection! (Where "lippie" includes anything tinted you wear on lips, because I forgot to include lip balm and am too lazy to take more pictures.)

Full-coverage lipsticks: L'Oréal Infallible Le Rouge in Bold Bordeaux, Sephora Rouge Cream in Sexy Game, Clinique High Impact Lip Color in After Party

I rarely wear any of these, because I tend to not go for opaque lipstick, since I find it to be much less forgiving. I absolutely loathe the L'Oréal lipstick, and will post my scathing review once I take some more swatch pictures (the ones I have right now are after I fiddled with it for awhile to try and make it work, which is not as accurate a portrayal as I would like). The Sephora lipstick is a pretty color, it's just, again, really opaque, and I may throw it out. The Clinique is also very dark and vampy, but I find I can apply it sheerly when I want, and it was my first department store beauty purchase, so I'll hold onto it for sentimentality's sake if nothing else!

30 Days: Day 10

Yep, another 30 Days! Look at me go...

What's your favorite drugstore brand?
I really have two:

Wet N Wild wins for nail polish and eyeshadow, and for being so cheap.

Revlon wins for foundation and lip products; their lip butters are great, I don't mind their Colorburst lip gloss (which is high praise, coming from me), and their Ivory 110 foundation is light enough for me in the winter! They also have some great nail polish colors, but they're more expensive than WNW.

Honorable mentions: Maybelline for cream eyeshadow (Color Tattoo), CoverGirl for powder blush (Cheekers), L'Oreal for eyeshadow (Infallible, which have truly gorgeous colors, though they don't wear as well on me as they do on others), Prestige for eyeliner (Total Intensity ftw!), and Physicians Formula for bronzers and highlighters (though they don't come cheap).

What are your favorite drugstore brands?

30 Days: Day 9

Well, I guess one of these posts every 6 weeks or so means I'll be done with this series in...another 3 years, ok. I should probably step up the pace if I actually want to have any hope of finishing it! (If you're not familiar with the series, see my original post here, though I'm not following Magi-Mania's prompts too strictly!).

Show us your (powder) eyeshadow collection!
I wear glasses and am effectively blind when applying eye makeup, so I tend to rely on neutral staples when I wear eyeshadow. As such, my collection is pretty boring by most bloggers' standards, but it serves my purposes very well! I sometimes think I should cut down on it, because I just don't wear eyeshadow that often, but I like them all...

30 Days Makeup Challenge: Day 8: Blush

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

30 Days Makeup Challenge: Day 7

For a summary of this series, see here!

What is your favorite eyeshadow color?
Well this is a no-brainer: TAUPE! I love how versatile and wide-ranging it is. Below are most of the taupes in my collection (all the ones that I wear or have recently acquired).

Left to right: Fyrinnae Arcane Magic Evocation, Fyrinnae Platinum, Fyrinnae Koala, L'Oreal Bronzed Taupe, Maybelline Bad to the Bronze, NYX Iced Mocha, theBalm Insane Jane

Platinum isn't really taupe at all, but let's just say I included it for comparison purposes, mk? Evocation and Koala are both the darkest and coolest, while Iced Mocha is the lightest and most gold and Bad to the Bronze the reddest. Bronzed Taupe is, in my opinion, the most versatile, flattering shade in my collection of taupes, and I love the texture, so if you don't have many taupes in your collection (and really, who ever has enough taupes?), I definitely recommend checking it out. I've got a couple of high end taupe shadows on my wish list (Le Métier de Beauté Corinthian and Chantecaille Sel), and I'm planning on picking up at least one of them when I'm in New York; I'd love to get both, but at $30 apiece, I really can't afford to!

Oh, taupe, you've ruined me for all other neutrals.

What's your favorite eyeshadow color? Do you share my fondness for taupe, or do you prefer brighter colors?

30 Days Challenge: Day 6

I'm still quite mired in work, so the rate of posting will slow down a bit before I get on top of my stuff again (here's hoping that happens before the end of the term, but no guarantees!), so you may be seeing more 30 Days/random, swatch/review-free posts, since they're less time-consuming. I'll try to post some food stuff, too––if anyone has problems with that, take it up with Neens!

On a maybe-perhaps-probably-not-really related note, I've decided to just throw caution and reason to the wind and make these up as I go, since many of the questions from the "original" 30 Days (by which I mean, the first one I saw) just aren't applicable for me, so if there's any question you're just dying to see answered, or dying to share yourself, feel free to let me know!

What beauty trend(s) do you shy away from?
I've got a lot of things I either don't want to try or don't have the skill to try (sometimes both!). False lashes hold no appeal for me––I don't even like mascara, for pete's sake! Bright eyeshadows are also generally a no-no, both because I don't tend to like how they look on me, and because my eyeshadow applicationing is...pretty bad. Also, orange lips, I will never seek. Or legit nude lips. I look enough like a walking corpse as it is, thanks. And lastly, crackle polishes. I friggin' hate those things. So glad they're on their way out!

What about you?

30 Days Makeup Challenge: Day 5

For a run-down of this series, see here.

Do you like to wear foundation? What's your favorite?
I wear foundation 99% of the time––basically, unless I'm really sick (like when I had strep!). I've been favoring MAC Matchmaster (in shade 1) lately, since it offers medium but buildable coverage and controls my oil without drying me out (ideal for winter), but on lazy days (or when I'm running late!), I opt for Meow mineral foundation (a blend of Pampered and Flawless Sleek Siamese). I have trouble finding foundations that match my pale skin and don't break me out, and both MAC and Meow succeed on those fronts. If you're oily like me, I definitely recommend checking them out!

What about you?

30 Days Makeup Challenge: Day 4

For an overview of this series, see here!

Favorite special occasion lip?
While I tend to gravitate towards sheerer plums and pinks for my everyday wear, I go for the gusto when it comes to special occasion lipstick. No nudes here!

Le Métier de Beauté Fraise Crème (left; enlarge to see the sparklies!), Chanel Dragon

Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure Laque was the first truly designer purchase I made, and is fittingly the perfect rich red. It's a little high-maintenance, since it has to be applied with a lip brush (and even a lip pencil, though I've yet to cave and buy one just for that purpose, since I don't wear them otherwise!) and you have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't fade in the middle, but it's so beautiful that who can complain? Le Métier de Beauté Fraise Crème Lip Crème is not as bold as Dragon, though it's certainly no shrinking violet, and its combination of pretty shimmer, amazing wear, and lovely texture make it a fantastic choice for less formal events, as well as those times when you can't afford to be worried about your lipstick (say, at a conference, or a wedding, or when you're watching tv and waiting for your food to be delivered and you don't want to scare the delivery person but you're too lazy to go and check in the mirror).

I've got my sights set on a few other special occasion lips (all high-end, naturally!), but I'm trying to bide my time until I have an excuse to get them. What are your go-to special occasion lip products? Do you like bold lips, or do you prefer to go more neutral on lips and play up your eyes?