October Birchbox

I opted in to recieve the Goop co-branded Birchbox this month, and at first it was so much of a snooze I almost forgot to write about it. But upon closer inspection, it seems like there is some good stuff in here!

*Blush*

Sorry to have fallen off the face of the earth for a week! I got wrapped up in a project and basically dropped everything else, without warning. Oops. I may have to start doing only two posts a week, but I’ll keep up the best I can… because I still have to tell you stuff!

One such stuff is this Korres Cheek Butter.I picked it up toward the end of the summer, because I wanted a warmer option than the O-glow I’d been using, and this seemed like a really natural looking color. It’s the kind of “universal” pinky peach that looks good on everyone, according to a bunch of magazines I read, so I actually ended up ordering it online without even trying it at the store.

Rules For An Awesome Nail Salon

1. Provide a wide array of slightly dried out and/or separated polishes.
   
2. Manicurists should not allow customers to interrupt their conversations with each other, nor should they allow proximity to each other to limit conversation. That’s what shouting is for.
   
3. Use well-worn paper nail files aggressively.
   Avoid fine-grit boards if possible.
   
4. Always use ambiguously clean tools, with gusto!
   
5. If manicurists are not with a customer, they should stand around eating loudly and talking more loudly.
   
6. Have a rice cooker cooking rice, somewhere.
   Make sure aroma is evident.
   
7. Instruct employees to wash vegetables in the hand sink. (Recommended: Broccoli)
   
8. Allow manicurists to take personal phone calls while working on customer’s nails. Extra points if conversation is during polish portion of manicure.
   
9. Make sure there are no magazines anywhere.
   
10. Always try to include at least three misspelling per sign.
    
11. It should take no less than four rounds under the dryer to dry thick layers of polish.
    
12. All chairs should be uncomfortable, with torn vinyl and stains where applicable. 

In case you were wondering, it was $8, and probably worth it.
(Assuming I didn't catch nail herpes.)

Crème Of The Crap

Before there was BB Creamavailable, I used Tarte Smooth Operatortinted moisturizer. And before that, I used Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer,which was all the rage at the time. When I heard Laura Mercier had put her tinted moisturizer in a compact,I was definitely interested, mostly for touch-ups and travel. (Because I am still fiercely loyal to Dr. Jart!) So when I saw a Sephora promo code to get a free mini compact of the new tinted moisturizer, I snapped it up in a way that was very much like that little noise a compact makes when it closes.

Clearly, Time For A Mask

It’s October! Somehow! Already! But that’s okay, because I like October, but seriously, what happened to September? We don’t know. But since it's definitely October 1st, we might as well talk about a mask. Hahah. Do you get it?! A MASK!

Anyway.

Naked Too

I finally broke down and bought the Urban Decay Naked2eyeshadow palette. I’d been coveting it for months, but I had the original Naked Palette so I didn’t really need another one, even if the colors were a little different. Plus, conveniently, the little month indicator had worn off the velvet case, so I could play dumb about wether or not it was “expired.”

Bespectacled

Wow. So, it’s FALL, for reals, officially. I went outside in a sweatshirt and jeans today and I was still a little chilly! But that’s okay, because I love the change of seasons, and I was really starting to get sick of the heat and humidity. We’ve been treated to some truly gorgeous days this September.

I love fall fashion, I love fall foods, I love Halloween, and then Thanksgiving and Christmas and fondue and snow.

But.

September Birchbox

Fall Fashion Issues are such "a thing", that they’re the inspiration for this month’s Birchbox. There is even a tiny magazine inside, The Fall Lookbook. It features the Birchbox staffers modeling some of their favorite fall beauty trends, plus a few how-to’s. It’s cute, if a little catalogy.

Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha Got Cookin'?

I don’t really buy cookbooks anymore because I have copy of the world’s largest cookbook, it’s called THE INTERNET. But one weekend afternoon, my husband and I stopped at Café Pedlar to get a cup of coffee (I got a really gorgeous cappuccino) and while we were waiting I noticed the The Frankies Spuntino cookbook for sale. The last time I ate at Frankies Spuntino I had gnocchi so good I actually got tears in my eyes because it reminded me so much of my grandmom.

I bought the cookbook. Obviously.

Face Off

I am as guilty as anyone of going out of the house without makeup on. Sometimes I go a little further from home than I should, if I can wear sunglasses. (But never further than I can travel on foot!) It’s not that I mind putting makeup ON, it’s that I hate taking it OFF. I would honestly love to have makeup on 24/7, which is probably why I was so crazy about those eyelash extensions, but taking it off is always a drag.

Over the summer, I reviewed some blueberry face wipes that were unimpressive. An anonymous commenter, who is currently totally missing her opportunity for a shoutout, recommended I try the ones from Trader Joe’s. Even though I can see Trader Joe’s from my apartment if I lean far enough out the window, I didn’t manage to get in there to track them down until recently. (Trader Joe’s stores in NYC get insanely crowded, so you have to go at just the right time. Which varies.)

Touche Me Once, Touche Me Twice

It’s been 100 years since I wrote anything about actual makeup! Maybe 100 days, but still, it’s been awhile! I guess during summer I wasn’t doing anything all that interesting, except for some lip glosses, or stains, or glossy stains. I was basically all BB Cream, O-Glow, and Buxom mascara all the time, with a little dust of whatever on occasion. The weather was just so sticky! It’s not the heat, you know, it’s the humidity. And also, it’s the heat.

Fall Flat

 

Have you done any fall shopping yet? I’m usually all over it, but I’m off to a slow start this year. Or maybe, it’s a “good” start, because I’m trying to carefully consider every purchase, and only buy and keep things I really love.

That said, I wore my new red flats on Friday, and I love them.

September “Issue”

Autumn, when young woman’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of fashion, and young woman’s handbag can no longer accommodate a fashion magazine, because they’re all four times the size they usually are.

Pretty Delicious

Macarons are the supermodels of the cookie world. I’m almost 100% sure they are the most photographed cookie in the world, at least by professional photographers. It seems like they are the go-to confection for photoshoots involving fashion, decadence, or girly parties. And they practically co-starred in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette! You would almost get tired of them, if they weren’t so pretty and so, so delicious.

Mission: Control

If you are a regular reader, you might be wondering “But how did she ever deal with her crazy hair?” If you are a regular reader with crazy hair, you might have wondered a slightly longer wonder, ending with “and what should I do with mine?”

Lady-Razor Cage Match!

After receiving a Schick Hydro Silk in my August Birchbox, I wanted to test it out against the Venus Embrace I’ve been using. I had tried Schick’s Quattro razor before, as well as their Intuition, and wasn’t particularly impressed. But I’ve been into the moisturizing razor blades lately, so I was really interested in checking this one out.

It's time for a throw-down!

A New Altitude

Yesterday I went to Alt Summit NYC, which is a spin-off of the larger Altitude Design Summit held in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s basically a design blogging convention, though it’s open to everyone. Some people were neither designers nor bloggers, but everyone was interested in both. And yes, that means right now I’m blogging about a blogging convention. But it’s the best blogging convention, I bet, and you know how I love to find the best stuff!

Toning For Teetotalers

A few weeks ago I mentioned my trip to Christine Chin for a torture/facial appointment, after which she made me promise to start using a moisturizing toner. She stressed that it had to be ALCOHOL-FREE. Christine didn’t push her products on me, and I told her I was sure I had an alcohol-free toner at home.

I didn’t.

Dramatically Indifferent

I’ve been using a deluxe-size sample of Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotionevery night for about a month now, or however long it’s been since I ran out of my deluxe-size sample of Philosophy’s Hope In A Jar Moisturizer.

Here's A Tip...

I put these gold sparkles on my nails after seeing a tutorial on The Hairpin last week. But here is the thing, I took photos of the process, which aren't really necessary since we have the video, but I didn’t take a photo of the finished manicure until today... a week later. They still look good, no? The sparkles and extra layers of polish protect the tips of your nails from getting destroyed! Such a nice bonus!

August BirchBox

The theme this month is Beauty School, and the samples came with a little pamphlet of beauty basics: what different kinds of brushes are for, how to read a label, how to get a better shave, etc. I didn’t pick up anything new, but it was cute. The whole thing was designed notebook-doodle-style.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match

I was going to write about the Birchbox that arrived over the weekend, but I just heard about the new Sephora + Pantone Color IQ system, and I need to talk about it right away!

Sure As Spit

We’ve all been there. You’ve got eye makeup where you don’t want eye makeup, so you grab a cotton swab, carefully dip it into your bottle of makeup remover (or run it under the tap), squeeze the excess out over the sink so it’s not too wet, then attack the offending pigment.

One Word Arguments Against 3D Nail Art

Buttons

Wiping

Cooking

Germs

Typing

Wedgies

Rummaging

Boogers

Ponytails

O.B.

Hideous

These are just the first things I thought of, I’m sure there are like a billion more. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Coulda Been A Contenda

You might have heard me mention my favorite Buxom Mascara (which basically inspired this entire blog) one or twenty times before. I hardly ever try other mascaras, since I’m so happy with this one. But…

Speakup, Naughty!

I have been getting increasingly more concerned about my favorite leopard flats. They’re “Naughty” by Nine West, and they’ve been discontinued for a while now. I tried to stock up while I could, but this is my third and final pair. I wear them constantly, and they are, sadly, beat-to-shit. I mean, they are really kind of embarrassing at this point. I still have a silver pair in decent shape, and black patent pair in good shape, but the plain black ones are beat-nearly-to-shit as well.

What Are You Lookin’ At, Ombré?

You’ve probably seen the ombré nail polish trend in magazines, if you haven’t come across anyone who has bothered to do it in real life. It’s not that it’s that hard to do, as far as nail art goes, but collecting colors in a nice progression (finding, paying for, storing) has always seemed to me like more trouble than the trend was worth. Even buying one of the pre-assembled sets seems like kind of a waste. How often do you really want ombré nails? And then you end up with five nail polish colors that are practically the same.

Glo With A Pro

For my birthday this year, I got a facial from Christine Chin. True, I had “mentioned” wanting one, but I was still really happy and surprised when I opened my gift card.

Hope Against Hope

Somehow or other, I managed to get a deluxe sample of Philosophy's Hope in a Jar moisturizer. Offer code, point perk, something. It was a big sample, and I used it as my nighttime moisturizer for about two months.

I'm Sbitten!

One of the things that really annoys me, and I assure you, there are MANY things, is when I see a new product in a magazine and can’t find it ANYWHERE. Such was the case with Revlon’s new Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.

July Birchbox

The theme of this month’s Birchbox is OMGTHEREAREHEADPHONESINHERE! Okay, the theme is the five senses, but holy crap! Headphones! The July box is co-branded with Glamour Magazine, so I guess they get partial credit for the earbuds.

Probably Not, To Blueberries

I received a packet of  Yes To Blueberries Facial Towelettes in my April Birchbox. I generally only use makeup remover towelettes when I’m traveling, so I didn’t end up using them until recently.

Frizzies

I had given up on Frizz-Ease after one too many accidental overdoses. One pump was never enough, two or three was sometimes enough, or sometimes too much. Eventually I was just done with it.

Suncreen Showdown

I think the first fancy facial sunscreen I ever tried was La Roche Posay Anthelios. It was nice, and it’s still featured in magazines pretty frequently, but last summer I went with Elta MD UV Clear, which is thicker and creamier, and doesn’t run down your hand when you squeeze it onto your fingers. It was great, though it doesn’t vanish into your skin as quickly. It has zinc oxide, which makes a physical barrier instead of a chemical one, which means… it’s going to take a minute.

I wasn't sure what kind to go with this year. Last February, before all the magazines started talking about the newest kinds of sunscreen, I bought a bottle of Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid SPF 70 to wear while I was on vacation in St. Lucia. I’d heard good things about it, and since it was about $15 cheaper than La Roche Posay or Elta MD, I figured it was worth a shot.

It was fine, it seemed like it did the job as well as La Roche Posay, even if it took a little while to absorb. I figured that small inconvenience was worth saving fifteen bucks.

Then, this summer, right before I left for (slightly less glamorous) Ocean City, New Jersey, I read about a new sunscreen from L’Oreal. Well, new to the U.S. anyway. It was one of those products beauty editors allegedly stock up on when they are in Europe or whatever. L’Oreal Sublime Sun SPF 50 “Liquid Silk Sunshield for Face.” It sounded much nicer than the Neutrogena stuff I had.

The day before I left for my trip, I stopped by Duane Reade to see if they had the new L’Oreal sunscreen line. I feel like 95% of the time, when I read about something, it’s months before I can find it in a store. But I found one bottle! On the wrong shelf, turned sideways. For some reason, that made it even more exciting.

Now that I’ve tried both, for a week each, I feel like I can give you an accurate comparison.

Rings On Her Fingers and Gels On Her Toes

Is a close-up photo of my crazy toes exactly what you were in the mood to see today? Oh good! I was worried.

I spent the last week of June on the beach, and in preparation for my trip, I did a DIY Gelish manicure AND pedicure. (Tiger Blossom, I totally dig it.)

A Gift From Planet Porecleanz

I was on vacation last week, but that didn’t keep me from trying out some new stuff while I was away! Like this crazy thing!

She’s A Stainiac, Staaaaaaiiniac

My friend Angela and I both received samples of Stainiac Cheek & Lip Tint (by The Balm) in our June Birchboxes. Before I had even tried mine, Angela was addicted to hers and raving about it, so I figured I should GET ON IT. I have an imaginary reputation to uphold!