Best Lipstick Formulas 2019

It will surprise none of my regular readers to learn that if I could wear only one category of makeup for the rest of my life, it would be lipstick. (I could probably use nude lipstick as undereye concealer, right?...right?) I wear lipstick every single day. I've tried almost every color category of lipstick. I created a lipstick taxonomy , for God's sake. But despite my passion for lipstick, a passion that has lasted the better part of a decade, I didn't use lip liner until fairly recently. The reason will sound a little neurotic, because it is: I wanted to experience each of my lipsticks in its "purest" form, without adulteration. If I bought a lipstick, it was because I loved that  particular mixture of pigments and respected the craftsmanship behind it. I didn't want anything to alter the delicate balance of warm and cool tones in NARS Mysterious Red or the subtle dustiness of Urban Decay Backtalk. But tastes change, and sometimes it takes me a while to fi...

Because it's year-end-roundup season until January 31, damn it. I'm back online, so it's time to present my favorite new-to-me beauty products of 2016! As always, I've listed these items in the order in which I bought them. I listed 14 favorites in 2014 and 15 in 2015, but 16 seemed excessive somehow, so I kept the number at 15. 1. MAC Matte Lipstick in Antique Velvet This was the very first beauty product I bought in 2016, after a no-buy of almost two months. During those two months, I tried on Antique Velvet twice, loved it both times, searched the internet for cruelty-free dupes, and finally decided that nothing would satisfy me but the genuine article. Antique Velvet is a dark, cool-toned brown with a hint of plum. You'd think that such a dark matte lipstick would go on patchy, but it's smooth and evenly pigmented, with the same soft, comfortable formula as the other MAC mattes I've tried. After sticking to my no-buy for seven weeks, I expected to be thr...

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...

The title of this post is misleading, since I took a break from my low-buy during my month in England (I'm writing this on my last evening here). I'll just say it: I bought 11 12 new pieces of makeup and nail polish in June. This is going to be a haul post. Which is okay! I planned for this hiatus, I could afford it, I'm happy with what I bought, and I'm eager to get home and start experimenting. I'm also going on a replacement-only no-buy for the month of July, just to give myself some time to enjoy my new stuff. In August, I'll resume my low-buy regimen. As I'm sure you've heard, the pound has taken quite a hit in the last week. I bought seven of my new products pre-Brexit but am using the current exchange rate ($1.33 to £1 ) for the conversions in this post, so my total in dollars will be a little lower than what I actually paid. New Makeup/Polish: Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Facet: £14.50 Barry M Nail Paint in Vintage Violet: £2.99 Barry M Gelly Hi-...