Commentary

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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Sephora Flash Price Increase

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Sephora Flash Price Increase

An e-mail sent on August 17, 2018 to Sephora Flash subscribers expressed Sephora’s intention to increase the Sephora Flash membership fee from $10 to $15 for a year. This change takes effect next month on September 26, 2018.

Recap – What is Sephora Flash?

The easiest way to think of Flash is to compare it to Amazon Prime. Granted, Prime comes with a whole host of other perks, but if you focus just on shipping, this is that. An annual membership fee gets you discounted shipping. You can read more about it from when I wrote about it at launch nearly three-and-a-half years ago; and if you’re interested in signing up, you can check that out here.

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Sephora Beauty Insider Marketing Emails

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Lighting in Sephora

I planned to schedule a repost today, but I have a quick blurb I can share about Sephora Beauty Insider marketing emails.

Today, I received a run-of-the-mill message from Sephora reminding me that have Beauty Insider points to blow. Okay, fair, #justnormalthings.

The subject line, however, read:

679 points means limitless opportunities.

Limitless? Does it? I think by ascribing a value to it it is literally, by its very nature, limited. I don’t just get to walk into Sephora and demand a free Pat McGrath palette with my whopping 679 points. I can’t even get the Guerlain Power of the Orchid 750 point perk with my 679 points.

Sephora, what the hell. I understand you’re trying to entice me to try things and, subsequently, spend money (such is the nature of a marketing group), but come on. Don’t use silly language that is filled with holes to do so.

Flip Flop Fantasy – New is Not Always Improved

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This legacy post has been given a facelift because it still hurts my heart. I loved this damn color! Content has been edited for clarity but opinion and, as far as I can tell, the status of the product in question are the same.

Raise your hand if you’ve been hurt by a reformulation! Maybe it was New Coke. Or the use of HFCS in place of cane sugar in everything in general. Your recently-repurchased signature fragrance not being so signature anymore. Pantene doing Pantene things. Innovation in general is a good thing. But we’ve all experienced product changes and came to discover that new is not always improved.

Take nail polish, for instance. Certain shades are so well-known that they have their own cult of personality. If you’re here, reading, you can probably name at least half a dozen OPI shades off the top of your head without Google’s help – and that’s saying nothing of other brands.

Flip Flop Fantasy

It’s a bright, rich neon coral creme from their 2010 Poolside collection. Or, well, it was. A friend wore the Gelaze version of Flip Flop Fantasy for her wedding last summer; it seemed peach then, but I chalked that up to the occasional difference in the gel versions of shades. Alas, it wasn’t because it is gel, it was because China Glaze changed the shade entirely.

It’s a completely different color, now, in both RNP and gel. Chit Chat Nails shared images of both bottles, complete with the same item codes…

China Glaze Flip Flop FantasyFlip Flop Fantasy – Chit Chat Nails (now defunct)

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Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 14 – Azature Diamond Nail Polish

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Diamond Nail Polish from Azature

 

If you’re new here, my hobbies include talking smack on unnecessarily expensive nail polish. I get (perhaps irrationally) angry when I see ludicrously expensive I came across another one yesterday, and to my surprise it was not yet another offering from repeat offender Louboutin!

Instead, this diamond nail polish from Azature more than takes the metaphorical and, hell, for that price, literal cake.

So Damn Foolish

Clocking in at a whopping $230,000, Azature’s Black Diamond polish was made as a single batch limited edition – and the formula was made with 267 carats of black diamond.

Why?

Aside from the, “I have so much money that I may as well shred it,” demographic…I don’t get it! Why even make diamond nail polish? It doesn’t enhance the color or hardness/strength-enhancing properties of the formula. It is nothing but brag fodder – but it isn’t impressive to drop a house’s worth of money on a damn bottle of nail polish.

Shockingly, there are no reviews to speak of.

The Bottom Line

There’s nothing this can do to be worth it. Not even my usual uncouth jokes that I refrain from on here would make it worth it! I realize that products like this aren’t targeted at us plebeians but it just seems ridiculous and ostentatious to do in the first place.

Don’t wish to take out a mortgage on nail polish – hey, me too! If the novelty of diamond in the polish excites you, they have less-ambitious formulas at $25 (pictured).

What ridiculous stuff have you seen this week?

Unpopular Opinion: Liquid Lipstick

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This legacy post has been given a facelift. Opinions remain the same but content has been edited for flow and clarity.

I can’t quite pinpoint where the madness took hold. Liquid lipstick isn’t really a new product or idea; nay, Stila has offered their Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks for several dozen moons. At some point within the last two years, though, liquid lipstick exploded. Most companies offer them now, and those that already had them expanded their lines, and companies who weren’t really on the lip game (like Anastasia), got involved.

And ultimately, I don’t get the obsession.

Needy

Let’s face it – although the point is that they shouldn’t be high maintenance, they are.

  • They require meticulous lip prep; scrubbing to exfoliate is not ever optional when you’re rocking these.
  • You need to moisturize before application…but not too much, or the product won’t properly adhere to your lips!
  • To put the icing on the cake, they tend to be drying as all hell to the lips…and then settle awkwardly in your lip-lines.
  • It’ll last a looong time, but if you ever feel like you need to reapply? More often than not, you’re better off removing it entirely and starting from square one.

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