Makeup

Quick Take: Benefit Gimme Brow is Coming Back

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Gimme Brow Recall

I was sad when the recall of Gimme Brow came out. At the time, it seemed as though the product was being discontinued.

Then, after weeks with a new product and almost as soon as my post about that product went live, I got word that Gimme Brow is returning. Rather, at this point, has returned for online sales for the most part. It will be available in most stores by Friday.

The packaging, price, and shade range appears to be the same. The product now has a plus sign appended at the end of its name so it reads: Gimme Brow+. To me, this implies a reformulation. Based on the earlier recall, a reformulation makes sense to comply with eye safety standards…but then why throw on the + sign? There don’t appear to be any claims of enhanced efficacy, hold, conditioning, or any of that jazz.

As for me… 

I still intend to use up my Ulta Brow Tint. I also still intend to try Glossier Boy Brow. But I’m delighted Gimme Brow is back and definitely plan to repurchase to verify that havoc wasn’t wreaked on it. That said, at $24 a tube, purchases will be limited to infrequent VIB and Ulta Platinum sales.

Wands for Wildlife

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Wands for WildlifeA wee opossum helped by Wands for Wildlife

What happens with your mascara wands when you finish a tube?

If you’re anything like I was they usually end up in the trash. Cosmetics packaging isn’t readily recyclable due to the blend of plastics and other materials. Occasionally TerraCycle has a campaign that allows for recycling of otherwise-uncommonly recyclable cosmetics packaging; right now, they’re partnered with Garnier to offer no cost recycling for those tough-to-recycle beauty and personal care items. Pretty cool!

Recycling = Good; Reusing = Better

I now keep a bin of cleaned out packaging to send off to TerraCycle. While it’s great to recycle when you can, you’ll have a greater impact to the environment if you can reuse. After all, an item in its original form without engaging the additional resources needed to turn Item A into new Item B is more resource- and environment-friendly. For me, this means cleaning and keeping mascara wands I like to use with formulas I prefer. I’m picky, though, and a lot of them are still cast out.

For the environmentally inclined among you: What if I told you that you could save your wands and send them off to help woodland critters?!

Wands for Wildlife

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The KonMari Method Komono – Makeup – Part 1

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Do you have too much makeup? I’ve been feeling like I do. Last month, I shared my excitement at Lisa Eldridge sharing some No Buy sentiments. I’ve been feeling a bit like I want less stuff. I’m not entirely sure how to describe it. I’m not aiming to be minimalist, anti-consumerist, or no-waste. All of those concepts feel extreme to me and I’m more of a moderation kind of gal. In short, I just want to pare down and be more thoughtful about the things-in this case, products-I bring into my home. As it is, I have too much stuff and a lot of that stuff is stuff I never use or is just OK and I use it because I have it, but wouldn’t miss it.

In particular, I feel like I have too much in the way of beauty products. It’s funny when you’re getting into a new hobby and you just need to try all the things to figure out what suits your features, abilities, lifestyle, and so forth. So I accumulated a lot. Less than people I know in real life, and certainly less than the vloggers and wannabe MUAs who have entire rooms of their home dedicated to their collections. But this isn’t a game of comparison; I had certainly accumulated more than I needed, and more than I would use in a reasonable amount of time.

The KonMari Method

A while I ago, I sipped the delicious kool-aid Marie Kondo (she is getting a Netflix show – isn’t that crazy? I’m kind of concerned about production making it weird though, like so many things are) was serving up. Although I haven’t executed the KonMari method on my home (will probably start with my office, honestly), I appreciate and incorporate some of the principles and thinking into how to treat bringing items into my home.

Makeup and beauty products fall solidly under KonMari category four, Komono (miscellaneous), to be addressed after clothing, books, documents & papers. It is such a broad category that she suggests dividing it into (at least!) ten subcategories, one of which is makeup.

I needed to come up with additional storage solutions. I bought a few sets of MUJI drawers (which seriously are wonderful and do spark joy on their own). In reality, though, if I wouldn’t have irresponsibly allowed my collection to expand, I wouldn’t have needed to spend more to store it. I’m not beating myself up about it; a lot of the ‘stuff expansion’ was a result of exploration. But I know what kinds of products I like, now. I’m more in touch with what I like, and what sparks joy in a product or tool, to responsibly bring it into my home with an expectation that I will use it and love it.

When it Doesn’t Spark Joy

Over time, I feel like the more makeup I accumulated, the less affected I was by how awesome it is. I found myself having less fun than I used to. Sadly, the overwhelming amount of stuff I had wasn’t inspiring me and I started seeing it as more of a chore than something fun.

I destashed to friends and family, I sold items on /r/MakeupExchange, I tossed expired things, I donated some items.

That actually helped a LOT! Since I’ve done that, I’ve been feeling better – but not as good as I could be.  So, (being a rebel and totally going out of the prescribed order; sorry Kondo-san) I resolved to give my collection the KonMari treatment.

To Be Continued

I’ve put it on the calendar for a weekend and April. I’ll report back with my results by May.

Worth it? Ulta Brow Tint

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Ulta Brow TintUlta Brow Tint, $10

When I learned that my favorite brow product, Gimme Brow, had been recalled/discontinued, I was upset. I seem to end up getting attached to products that end up facing discontinuation just a year or two later. I set out to research replacements because like mascara and unlike lipstick, I do my brows daily.

Exploration

Glossier’s Boy Brow product looks attractive, and I intend to someday try it. That said, that day doesn’t happen to fall in the first quarter of 2018. Instead, I was surprised to find that Ulta Brow Tint, an unassuming brow product in their house line, has incredible reviews… and is only $10 a tube.

Supply Run

I needed to resupply on dry shampoo last month, which is ‘permitted’ by my ‘rules.’ Likewise, resupplying on a brow product is within the rules as long as I’m not getting crazy experimental. Since my previous product is not available for purchase, trying something new is fair. And, better yet, it costs less.

Better-better yet:

  • The whole line, including Ulta Brow Tint was buy one, get one free
  • I had Ulta coupons
  • I had a gift card

…so I didn’t spend out-of-pocket.

Shade Range

Ulta Brow Tint comes in six shades and, as a result, beats the pants off the color options of most other brands offering similar products.

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Roller Eyeliner

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When I wear ‘proper’ eyeliner (not shadow-as-eyeliner), I use one of two formats: gel liner (my favorite) or a mechanical twist-up (the only one I’ve had luck with). There’s been a lot done with eyeliner in the past two decades but when I saw these new-fangled roller eyeliner releases, I got EXCITED.

Roller Eyeliner – What Is It?

The three roller eyeliner products on the market appear to use the same idea. A wand that has a small, foam disc on the end that rests in an ink-like liquid liner when the tube is closed. The disc is thin and has a small radius to facilitate easy application.

It isn’t the first time, after all, that I have been excited about the intersection of beauty and technology or beauty and engineering. What’s more amazing is that all three I’ve found consistently receive 4/5 star ratings on their respective sites.

Could it be that it isn’t just a gimmick!?

Roller Eyeliner - NUDESTIX Rock n' Roller

Nudestix

First, I saw NUDESTIX Rock n’ Roller Easy Eyeliner Ink. Samantha Ravndahl mentioned them in some format of hers and I was blown away. Then I saw them in an Instagram ad and…I was blown away again. I was so excited, in fact, that I made a point of showing this brilliant take on an eyeliner applicator with my could-not-be-more-disinterested-in-makeup husband. Even he thought it was neat; it reminded him of something used in metal fabrication.

There are three colors: ever practical black, Bronze Patina, and my favorite – Golden Rosé. I keep catching myself telling myself, “That’s totally wearable enough for work.” Honestly even writing that out gave me a twinge of temptation. And then I remind myself that not only does it run $24… I’m on a No Buy. 

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L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara Update

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L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara Carbon Black

I’ve been using L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara in Carbon Black for years now. The price (<$10) is nice, I love the brush, and it works well for my needs. Although I try other things occasionally, nothing has convinced me to stray.

A (temporary) Choice

Last time I needed to repurchase, though, Target was out of the Carbon Black (black tube) variety I typically go for. I settled for Blackest Black (gold tube) and called it a day.

The Difference

I’ve been using L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara Blackest Black since about November, now. Overall, the shade isn’t as dark as Carbon Black. It’s far from a crisis and literally no one but me notices. I’m not unhappy with it, but it isn’t quite the same.

I find that the classic L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara formula does not lengthen (or appear to lengthen) my lashes as effectively as the Carbon Black formula does. It does give some slightly-enhanced fullness, but fullness isn’t a concern for me right now.

The Impact of Pigment

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