Best Lipstick Formulas 2019

I haven't posted in five days, I probably won't be able to compile a proper post until late next week, and I feel guiltier than I should. I've always tried to treat this blog as a hobby, but the fact is that it's hard for me to have casual hobbies. I'm an incorrigible perfectionist and I put tremendous pressure on myself, and this can leech the fun out of anything, even writing about makeup. When I go more than three days without posting, I beat myself up for being less prolific than other bloggers, less prolific than I myself was earlier this year. If I write a short post, I criticize myself for being too shallow, too lazy, not thoughtful or eloquent enough. And this month it's been especially hard for me to post regularly, due to a combination of academic deadlines and a general downturn in my mood. When I try drafting a post, I feel guilty for neglecting my scholarly work. When I try to concentrate on my scholarly work, I feel guilty for not achieving a prope...

It feels like I've been waiting forever to post these reviews. When Ulta had a 40%-off sale on NYX and Revlon two weeks ago, I seized the chance to order a few things I'd been wanting for a while. (I came in $.77 over the $25 free-shipping minimum, which made me inordinately proud.) My order arrived this past Tuesday, but I forced myself not to open the package until I'd submitted an article I'd been refusing to let go. I did that on Wednesday, but the next four days were cloudy and rainy, which meant that I had almost no natural light by which to photograph my new goodies. Long story short: the weather, my schedule, and my neuroses didn't line up until today. So today I present, from left to right: Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet, NYX Slide-On Eye Pencil in Golden Bronze, NYX Jumbo Pencil in Iced Mocha, Revlon Lacquer Balm in Coy, NYX Round Lipstick in Castle, Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Embellished. Warning: embarrassment of photos ahead. Revlon Lip Butter in...

Name: Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Plum Velour Date of Purchase: July 2013 Grade: A- Notes: I'm usually indifferent to sheer lipsticks. No, let me phrase that another way: I like to think of myself as indifferent to sheer lipsticks. I've been wearing bold lip colors for over three years now, so putting on anything daintier can feel like a cop-out. But then I reach the bottom of another tube of sheer lipstick and realize that I have to reassess my loyalties. I feel a missionary zeal building in my breast as I write this post. Plum Velour is one of my most beloved lip colors, but it's sadly underappreciated. In fact, I think Revlon's Shine lipsticks are sadly underappreciated in general. They came out in the spring of last year, but caused very little stir--nothing like the frenzy that greeted the Lip Butters or the Matte and Lacquer Balms. Part of the problem, I think, was that the Shine lipsticks didn't have a cute new design, which made them seem like an...

...but first, some whining about the weather. It's October, yet every morning is still oppressively humid. The sky has been choked with thick gray clouds for the past week. Today I woke up, showered, then realized that with the humidity at 90%, my hair would take hours to air-dry. I got out the blow-dryer, which I almost never do, and ended up looking like a Korean boy-band member, my hair simultaneously lank and feathered. Now for my makeup--but thanks to the film of moisture all over my face and neck, nothing would stick. Each product melted off before I'd finished putting the next one on. Finally I resigned myself to mascara and matte lipstick and headed out the door. After a fifteen-minute walk, every inch of my skin felt clammy. My hair was still wet. I tried to take off my blazer, but the cloth was clinging so closely to my bare forearms that the lining of one of the sleeves ripped loudly. To hell with this weather . Because of the persistent cloud cover, I haven't b...