Makeup

Mac Motif

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Lately – who am I kidding, for the last several years – I have been craving simplicity when I wear makeup. Full faces are very rare. Most of the time, I’m doing 1-2 shade eye looks that I can do with next-to-no effort. I’ve been keeping the eyes light and neutral – I want to look awake and well-groomed, not made-up.

And, wow – I’ve been sleeping on Mac Motif.

Perusing and Purging

I recently did a purge of makeup that is well past its acceptable use date. As I went through ancient pieces, I came cross my old pan of Mac Motif in my Z-Palette (note: I wouldn’t buy a Z-Palette today; I’d buy this double-sided magnetic palette from Adept Cosmetics instead. I just don’t need to replace it). This pan was ancient; I got it back when I had that whole Glambot fiasco! That was SO long ago! (Don’t worry; I have not used it in ages.)

Missing Mac Motif

I did swatch it, though – and I had completely forgotten how gorgeous it is! Mac Motif is described as a champagne gold that reflects pink. I tend to avoid champagne shadows at this point because they often come across too frosty for my taste. Motif has a sheen, but isn’t frosty at all. The reflect is subtle, not loud, but enough to be interesting and fun for me to see without being distracting or compromising my professional image.

So, I took advantage of a Mac sale to get a new refill pan ($11 retail; prefer a shadow compact?). I’ve used it every time I’ve had to be on camera. I throw Painterly on underneath it, throw it on, make my crease evident again, line with a dark brown eyeliner because I’ve reached that point where black is often too much.

I look awake without looking harsh; mission accomplished.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve been collecting for a long time, look back through your stash!

You might rediscover something you either loved in the past or had but didn’t use much! While it might mean you want to buy a fresh version of it, that’s a wiser spending choice than getting lost in the latest 7235239523 hot new whatever, whoever is shilling.

Worth it? Lemonhead LA Glitters

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Worth it? Lemonhead LA Glitters

Last year, a friend had some adventures that included seeing ABBA. She had a requirement: vegan glitter. While I don’t know what she ended up with, I joined the hunt for products and offered up Lemonhead LA glitters as a suggestion. I would later learn that, in the realm of cosmetic glitter, Lemonhead LA reigns supreme. If you’re on the hunt for glitter that sets the standard, your search ends here.

…so, Eventually, I Bought Some

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Target x Ulta Partnership

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Did you know about the Target x Ulta Partnership? I’ve been a little out of touch, so I didn’t until a disappointing experience with Target in February.

I’d been wanting to try one of the Stila Convertible Colors for YEARS. Like, 5+, but I had a trouble pulling trigger on the $25 cream blush compact. I noticed that Target is carrying some prestige brands, but didn’t think much of it. I saw a Target Circle offer for 50% off some Stila products, and this was on the list! Score.

Maybe not

My order arrived, and this was the condition of the product when I unboxed it:

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Ways to Lower Your Beauty Waste

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ways to lower your beauty waste

Ever wonder about how to lower your beauty waste or lower your beauty consumption? Over the years, I’ve challenged myself over the years to make small, practical changes in my habits and consumption. Beauty and personal care aren’t exempted from this endeavor.

Here to Inspire, NOT Preach

I am not and do not aim to be zero waste. I’m also not here to preach at you from astride a white horse. My time is valuable to me, and I am willing to make certain concessions in the name of convenience to preserve some of it. I think there’s a balance to strike – plastic isn’t evil, just like chemicals aren’t evil, but we should produce and consume (let alone recycle or dispose of) far more thoughtfully (read: less) than the average person is today.

If you’re able or willing to go harder than me? That’s great! If you haven’t made changes along these lines but want to, that’s great too – and maybe I can give you some ideas to lower your beauty waste that don’t feel like such a sacrifice that you can’t achieve them. After all, goals that aren’t achievable aren’t smart.

Just because you aren’t going full-tilt doesn’t mean what you CAN do doesn’t make a difference.

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Lancome Juicy Tubes

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Lancome Juicy Tubes

Luxury brand Lancome isn’t on the forefront of beauty trends, but Lancome Juicy Tubes ($20) glosses endure as a classic and a favorite in the broader community of cosmetics fanciers.

I like the idea of lipgloss, but rarely the execution. As a youngster, I owned a few Wet n Wild tubes (and they still make a shade I used to use and still enjoy!), but never fully embraced them once I started wearing makeup in earnest as an adult. I can cope with the need to reapply often (though I don’t want to), but sticky is unacceptable.

My preferences translate to a relative unwillingness to risk $20 (or even a sale price; at 20% off they’d still be $16) on one. Admittedly, I was curious though: we’re talking about a non trendy/hype machine product with enduring 4.5 star reviews. Could Lancome Juicy Tubes be that good? What would a $20 lip gloss have to do or be in order for you to buy it?

Giving Lancome Juicy Tubes a Shot

There’s no universe in which I spend that much on something that looks like I could’ve gotten it from Claire’s as a child. When I was able to nab a free sample tube, I did.

In (an acronym and) a word:

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Worth it? Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner

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TAO Clean Sonic Makeup Brush Cleaner

Here I am, flirting with danger by reviewing a potentially gimmicky product: the Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner.

How Do You Clean Your Brushes?

You do clean them, don’t you?

Are you a sociopath that enjoys cleaning your brushes? It’s okay, this is a safe space. If you’re like the rest of us, though, there’s a whole subset of the beauty industry targeting the rest of us. There are a whole host of brush cleaning gadgets on the market. Some of them appear to me to be gimmicks, or to be scarcely more efficient than washing individually by hand.

For ages, I ignored them. Like a unitasking kitchen appliance, I wasn’t sold on their value. Furthermore, some seem harsher than doing so by hand. Your tools are an investment: you don’t want to be rough on them by subjecting them to a violently whirring apparatus. Many makeup brush cleaner appliances fall into this category.

Noting my bitching (and negligence), my husband got me the Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner ($ 95) as a birthday gift last year. Thoughtful. Practical. And a good present because I’d never have purchased it for myself at that price point (remember?). But finally, I’m actually keeping my brushes clean at a regular interval.

Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner

So, first things first about the Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner: it isn’t a smol boi. Nearly a foot tall and a touch top-heavy, the appliance comes in two pieces with a detachable A/C power supply. The run time for a single cycle is 2 minutes – in that time, it subtly moves each brush back and forth 50 times a second – or 6000 times.

I don’t know about you, but my manual cleaning (even with this mat) doesn’t result in fifty motions per second.

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