Saying hello again.

Hey everyone,

It's been quite a while since my last blog post. I had a lot of plans this year for the blog (especially in terms of consistency) that didn't really happen. There were a lot of reasons but the simplest answer is that I've been in a funk and I just needed a bit of a break from makeup and blogging in general plus I started going to the gym/focusing on my health (which eats up a lot of time of free time if you're going several days a week after work). 

Honestly this post by Bad Outfit, Great Lipstick is spot on why I stepped away from blogging (feeling less creative, acknowledging the impact of fast makeup/consumerism, changes in readership, etc). A big factor was also that I stopped shopping as much and so it felt hard to write without "material". I'm not quite at a place where I want to give up blogging, but I definitely think I needed the time to think about my hobbies and what I want to enjoy doing. Blogging has changed in the years since I've started and I'm not exactly sure where I fit in as a result.

I probably would have continued ignoring the blog if not for two major life events. First, I ended up moving to a new apartment. While the apartment is in the same complex, that still meant I had to pack my belongings/makeup in order to move. 

Secondly, right before I was moving, my dad ended up going to the hospital and required heart surgery over Thanksgiving weekend. It was the best and worst time for stress shopping because I definitely wanted to do shop to cope while all these companies were doing sales. My routine felt incredibly out of wack since I took time off work to spend time at the hospital. When I was at home and I started to unpack, looking through my things helped me rediscover what I did like about makeup and feel like just doing my makeup could give a sense of control over something in my life. 

My dad's better now but I know things are going to be different for a while due to his health so I feel like my makeup will be a nice comfort for me if only because I can wear what I want and also remove it at the end of the day. 

So this is me saying hi again. I don't know when I'll be writing again but just to say that I hope to have more words down in the future.

Thanks for reading.

EM Cosmetics True Gloss in Magic Hour and Secret Blush: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of the EM Cosmetics True Glosses in Magic Hour and Secret Blush. I first heard about these glosses from EmilyNoel83 and she absolutely raved about them. I mentioned recently that I'm way into glosses over liquid lipsticks (the comfort!!) and these seemed up my alley.

I had to chance to go to one of their Pop Up Shops so I was able to swatch the colors I was interested in in person and I got these two which are their more "neutral shades"; I'm hoping they will expand the range since it's really geared towards brighter reds and pinks. I feel like the brand interests me in the same way that Persona Cosmetics does; they do smaller releases on a slower schedule so the entire brand feels very curated.
 

I have more swatches and a review of the colors...

Glossier Brow Flick vs. Ardell Stroke a Brow: Review, Swatches, and Comparison

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review and comparison of the Glossier Brow Flick to the Ardell Stroke a Brow. I learned about the Ardell Stroke a Brow from Katie Jane Hughes and seeing how well the product worked on her. Soon after I got the Ardell, I found out that Glossier was going to be coming out with their own liquid brow pen though it was unclear when it would actually launch. Considering Ardell Stroke a Brow was a staple product of Katie Jane Hughes and how she collaborated with Glossier with Brow Flick, I thought it'd be useful to compare it to the two.

I have the Ardell Stroke a Brow in Soft Black and the Glossier Brow Flick in Black.

I tried to be as in depth as possible and have included swatches, compared the packaging, pricing, and tested the wear. Continue for more information...

Persona Cosmetics Season One Lip Gloss: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of the Persona Cosmetics Season One Lip Glosses in Peach, Honey, and Toffee. Persona Cosmetics is a brand that was founded by Sona Gasparian, a Youtuber and Beauty Blogger. I remember being introduced to the brand by Mandy Everley after she praised their Identity Eyeshadow Palette. I thought the brand was particularly interesting because many of their products are geared to flatter brown eyes. Of course you can use their products regardless of your eye color but it's rather nice to think of a brand recognizing that brown eyes don't get as much love.

I rather like their release schedule and how they take their time between launches so it feels like a very curated brand. I think it's easy to get lost when brands are releasing a new product every week so seeing how Persona has adding and expanding their range is rather refreshing. The Season One Lip Glosses are the first set of lip glosses that the brand has released. I'm hoping that by calling it Season One that they'll release more colors in the future. 

I'm really feeling lip glosses lately and so many other brands are too. Gone is the popularity of long lasting but uncomfortable products, I'm happy to see a renaissance of lip gloss even if it's not long lasting. I was really drawn into the colors and the formula of these glosses.

Continue to read my review and see swatches!

Wet N Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Creme Eyeshadow: Swatches and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of Wet N Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Creme Eyeshadows. I made a big purchase on Wet N Wild's website after seeing a whole bunch of their stuff reviewed by Bailey/DailyBaileyB on YouTube. I haven't been keeping up with Wet N Wild but their website makes it way easier for me than in the old days where you'd have to go to multiple stores to find the product range. This launch in particular really caught my eye because while there are lots of shimmery liquid eyeshadows out there, there aren't that many matte cream shadows at an affordable price.

Did these live up to my expectations? Click through to read my review and see swatches!

Glossier Play Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate in Pale Pearl: Swatch and Review

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Hey everyone!

Today is part two of my Glossier Play review with my thoughts on the Niteshine Highlighter Concentrate. I'm not surprised that they came out with a liquid highlighter yet I also feel like it was quite a safe decision for a brand that decided it had to create a whole new side brand for their brighter color cosmetics. I get a real 70s disco vibe from Glossier Play though I do feel like the type of products released seem boring despite how cool and colorful the brand imagery is.

Still, I wanted to see what the highlighter was all about so I picked up the lightest shade, Pale Pearl. I figured it'd be interesting to see how it compares their stick highlighter Haloscope.

Click through to read my review and see swatches on the highlighter!

Glossier Play Colorslide Technogel Eye Pencil: Swatches and Review

I Purchased This Referral Link

Hey everyone!

If you're familiar with my blog, you'll know that I own and have reviewed a ton of Glossier products. Boy Brow is my staple brow gel and I've gone through more bottles of Milky Jelly Cleanser than I can even remember. Glossier is well known for their effortless no-makeup makeup vibe so it's not a huge surprise that they would create a side brand, Glossier Play, for their more adventurous makeup launches.

Glossier Play is described as a brand of "dialed up beauty extras". In hindsight, I should have realized they were planning to venture into brighter color cosmetics after they launched their Milky Oil makeup remover. After all, not much in the original Glossier line required heavy duty makeup removing but the Glossier Play line has more colorful products.

I have lots of thoughts on Glossier and Glossier Play as a concept but it would take up way too many words in this blog post so I'll keep my thoughts to myself for another time. Today I have a review on two Glossier Play Colorslide Technogel Eye Pencils. Let's get to it!

Click through to see swatches and read my review!

Project Pan/Reverse Rouge Progress and Empties: January 2019

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Hey everyone!

Today I wanted to go over the progress I've made with my Project Pan/Reverse Rouge and show any empties I've used up in the month. A bunch of my fellow beauty bloggers/Youtubers are also doing Project Pans so I've linked to their posts also. Feel free to check them out! 

After my first post, I realized I forgot to show you how I plan on tracking my progress. I am borrowing a tip I saw from Kaily Baute to use a sharpie to mark on the sides of the bottle or packaging and it's an easy visual cue to mark progress.

I haven't made much progress on the four items I picked, so I decided not to take a new photo to mark. Here are my empties of the month though and how much they added towards my Reverse Rouge (goal of using up $1000.00 worth of beauty products.

Bath and Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand Soap: I got this on sale during a deal, I believe 5 for $23.00 so finishing one is worth about $4.60.
Glossier Boy Brow. Though there's still product in the tube, I'm considering it an empty because it's old and has gotten too goopy to use. $16.00
L'oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof. This is past the three month mark and needs to be tossed. $6.69 since I bought it at Target
Clean and Clear Persa Gel $4.99 since I bought it at Target.

All told, I used up $32.28. Only $967.72 to meet my Reverse Rouge goal! It's not much in the grand scheme of things but I'm happy to see myself actually use up products.

Be sure to check out my fellow beauty bloggers/Youtubers' posts and videos on their empties/project pans!

Beauty Info Zone - http://beautyinfozone.com/beauty/what-does-marcia-actually-use-up-an-empty-post-of-sorts/
Confessions of a Makeup Addict - https://www.nikmakeupjunkie.com/2019/01/project-pan-2019.html
CosmetopiaDigest - https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmetopiadigest
Glamorable - http://www.glamorable.com
Honeygirl's World - https://youtu.be/1mmQ278RVKI
Laugh, Love, Contour - http://www.laughlovecontour.com/2019/01/the-great-purge-and-project-pan.html
Never Say Die Beauty - http://www.neversaydiebeauty.com
Polarbelle - https://youtu.be/spO6oivPWtI
Southeast by Midwest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kTTKWq1Ys4

Are you participating in a Project Pan or Reverse Rouge? If so, how much progress have you made?

Glossier Generation G: New vs. Old Formula Swatches, Review, and Comparison

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Hey everyone!

As the title suggests, I'm going to be talking about Glossier's latest reformulation of their Glossier Generation G's, their sheer matte lipstick. This is the third formulation of the Generation G's and along with a tweak to one of the shades (Leo), there's been a long asked for update to the packaging and formula. I have the second formulation and packaging and got the new formula to compare.

Interested in reading the comparison? Click through to read more!

Project Pan/Reverse Rouge Challenge 2019: Introduction and Staying Accountable

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Hey everyone!

I hope you had a great New Years! To start the year off right and to be more aware of my consumption, I'm setting a Project Pan/Reverse Rouge Challenge for myself. If you're not familiar, a Project Pan is a challenge to "pan" or finish up products (the term comes from using a product up until you see the silver pan at the bottom of the packaging). Reverse Rouge is a project that can coincide with a Project Pan where the goal is to use up $1000.00 worth of product (a play on Sephora's VIB Rouge status achieved once you BUY $1000.00 worth of product). Credit goes to Elle S for coming up with the Reverse Rouge concept.

I've started thinking about consumerism and sustainability in terms of my makeup collection and consumption so that inspired this challenge. The overabundance of plastics, single-use products in non-recyclable packaging, etc is something I'm hoping to reduce from now on.

Click through for more information on what items I'm using in the Project Pan!