Best Lipstick Formulas 2019

After my little spending spree in the UK last month, I decided to go on a replacement-only makeup/polish no-buy for the month of July. I'm happy to report that I didn't need any makeup or polish replacements and had no trouble avoiding new purchases. I don't know why, but it's much easier for me to stick to a no-buy than to a low-buy. If I restrict myself to two new items per month, I'll inevitably end up with three or four. But if I restrict myself to zero items per month, I'll buy zero. Granted, I don't have a huge breadth of experience here — I've never tried to maintain a no-buy longer than two months — but in general, moderation is not my (black-and-white-striped) bag. Anyway, here's the damage for July: New Makeup/Polish: none, bitches! Gifts:  My mom picked up an e.l.f. lip stain in Nude Nectar at some point in the last several months. She can't remember when or why she bought it, but she has never used it and conjectures that "I pr...

I've been in three different time zones in the past week, and I feel weird. I originally planned to write this post two evenings ago while my skin absorbed the dewy coolness of a Tony Moly aloe sheet mask. Instead I fell asleep with the light on and my face unwashed. The same thing happened last night. Tonight, though, I will triumph over jet lag. And I'll be in one place for the next couple of weeks (I'm in San Francisco for my biannual visit), so I'll be posting a bit more frequently. That said, I'm working on my dissertation and preparing for another go at the job market, and I feel guilty when I use my precious and finite amount of writing energy on anything non-academic. I know it's irrational; I know that the energy I put into my blog isn't interchangeable with the energy I put into my academic writing. But it's so hard to relax these days. I haven't even been visiting my favorite websites very often. I used to read almost every article on xoVa...

My tastes in makeup have shifted recently. I've noticed myself gravitating toward different colors, textures, and undertones, and caring less about "seasonal" makeup. Spring was so cold and dreary this year that I didn't feel like making my usual switch to coral and pink tones. But even now, with the hot, swampy Mid-Atlantic summer in full swing, I find myself drawn to murky, gloomy makeup: browns, dark purples, grays, that sort of thing. I'm still too much of a traditionalist to wear, say, NARS 413 BLKR in July, but I'm finding the summer-goth aesthetic more and more appealing. You might argue that this too is an expression of seasonal rules: only someone who cared about them would care about breaking them, right? Well, maybe so. And maybe I'm not even breaking them: black plums, thunderstorms, and blackberries all belong to summer. So let's say that I'm complicating the usual summer palette. Yes, that sounds pretentious enough for this blog. Th...

I thought I'd post more after returning from England, but instead I've spent most of my time agonizing over a dissertation chapter that I'm revising (well, basically rewriting). You know that feeling when you read over an unfinished piece of writing one too many times, and suddenly it seems to dissolve before your very eyes, and you're no longer sure whether you've made an argument or even written coherent, grammatical sentences? And then you start questioning the very foundations of your knowledge and reach the conclusion that you don't know how to write about anything and in fact have never known? Yeah. Experience has taught me that the only thing that helps once I reach this point is taking a break, and I'm lucky enough to have the liberty of taking breaks when I need them. Here's hoping that writing about nail polish will clear my head. Let me introduce you to the three Barry M nail polishes (sorry, "Nail Paints") that I bought in England l...

Seventeen is a British beauty brand that had never sparked my interest prior to last month's UK trip. It doesn't get much press in the blogosphere, probably because it's exclusive to drugstore giant Boots and so lacks a solid brand identity. Boots has two house beauty brands: the more famous and extensive Boots No. 7, which also offers a range of skincare, and the smaller, trendier Seventeen, which is geared toward younger shoppers. Having turned 17 almost a dozen years ago, I assumed that Seventeen had little to offer me : the name evoked images of brightly colored, poorly executed kiddie makeup. But one day I decided to swatch a few of Seventeen's eyeshadow singles, and though some were indeed patchy and cheap-looking, I came away very impressed with the shimmery neutral shades. Two in particular caught my eye: Rose Quartz, a purplish taupe, and Statuesque, a coppery rose gold. Top to bottom: eyeshadow monos in Magenta (note that the matte formula is much less pigment...