Bi-Weekly WTF

WTF? Beauty Retailers Now Sell Adult Novelties

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First things first – if a frank discussion of an adult-adjacent topic bothers you, its best to skip this post. It isn’t going to get graphic or gruesome, but still.

I happened to be on Musings of a Muse the other day, and, well, the title says it all. I never would have seen it at Ulta, who is apparently the latest beauty retailer to join the fray, since I’ve stopped doing business with them. But I had no idea about Sephora – although I am still a Sephora customer, I haven’t browsed much this year.

ANYWAY. Isabella expresses some discomfort at seeing the novelties there despite having accepted their place among the sexual wellness and hygiene items at stores like Wal-Mart and Target. She shared that just doesn’t really want to be shopping for beauty items then BAM – vibrators.

What do you think?

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Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 20 – Quantity over Quality

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Over the last two years, I haven’t found makeup as inspiring as I once did. There are several reasons for this, but a significant part of this is the way the industry has handled new releases for a while.

It has felt like brands have been in a non-stop release cycle. Instead of investing time and money into the thoughtful development of quality product, consumers have been buffeted with an onslaught of subpar, uninspiring product. I’ve noticed this the most with prestige brands, but I’m sure it permeates each level.

Why Quantity over Quality

I can’t give a definitive answer, but here’s my prevailing theory on why.

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Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 19 – The Intersection of Wellness and Beauty

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“I want to be unhealthy,” said no one ever. There is a reasonable intersection between health and beauty. Healthy bodies with healthy skin, hair, and nails all feel and look better. It just makes sense to start with a foundation of health. Neglecting the former in favor of the latter is counter-productive.

What I do not buy into, however, is beauty retailers and resources pushing wellness products. Sure – you might want to take a biotin supplement for your hair and nails (but be careful). Do you really need to source that from Sephora, though? Sephora’s Inner Beauty section just makes me cringe, frankly.

Earlier in the Bi-Weekly WTF series I expressed my dismay over beauty gurus, “developing,” and peddling their own vitamins/supplements. This is along those very same lines! Just like how I’m not asking a beauty guru or haircare company for advice on car maintenance, I’m not asking them for health advice or products.

The Bottom Line

I simply don’t find it appropriate to buy wellness products from a company that makes hairspray. While our health and wellness impacts both our innate beauty and the resultant efficacy of products we use, Sephora isn’t the place for me to buy it.

Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 18 – Sunday Riley

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I had a different topic planned for this week’s post, but then shit hit the fan with Sunday Riley.

The Sunday Riley Snafu

On Monday, October 15 a throwaway account identifying herself as an ex-Sunday Riley employee posted on Reddit’s SkincareAddition sub. Her post described and disclosed some of what can only be described as heinous and unethical review practices on behalf of Sunday Riley.

I happened to find out via Twitter, which was agog with justifiable rage at this revelation. This isn’t just sketchy, it is going-to-ridiculous-lengths sketchy with extensive instruction, false Beauty Insider profile creation, and VPN usage. Check it out:

Sunday Riley

My Thoughts

I won’t waste your time pontificating on the matter, but have a few calmer points to add now that I am far enough away from discovering this.

  • I’m glad I am not a Sunday Riley customer. Especially with as expensive as their product is.
  • If your product is in fact good enough you should not ‘need’ to stoop to these levels.
  • They cannot be the only ones.
  • Will Sephora do anything about their relationship with this being out?

The Bottom Line

This is why you cannot purely trust reviews on merchant sites. If you are going to research product feedback, you should consult a diverse pool of sources. Period.

Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 15 – Inclusivity

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Inclusivity - or how YSL failed at it, anyway

Before I jump into this topic I want to make a critical acknowledgement: I am not a POC, so my perspective is just observation as someone who is ultimately not directly impacted by oversights of this nature. For those who are impacted, I am angry and disappointed that this ridiculous, unacceptable phenomena persists. I hope if enough of us band together, express outrage, and vote with our dollars, that things will change.

On Inclusivity

I read a good article last week from Fashionista regarding swatches and inclusivity; while I’ve known that inclusivity and product development for a diverse range of skin tones IS a problem, I can’t fathom why, in 2018 it is so damn hard. Fair-to-medium skin tones are far from the only consumers looking to purchase cosmetic products. Yet when new brands or products from existing brands are launched, they seem to have that same myopic focus. Fenty knocked it out of the park with their 40 shade foundation range at launch; other brands are scrambling to catch up to their example.

Swatch Scandals

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