I have been waiting to write a post until I have some kind of theme. But I don't. So here are a bunch of tidbits.
New mascara: I'm sure a lot of people do this, but I'll go a few years and start to reminisce about some product I used back in the day, and this time it was Diorshow Mascara. To be honest I recommended it to Jenna for her wedding and then borrowed it, and I was like, "Ooooh, this stuff IS good! I'm right AGAIN!" I still do like the Lancome Definicils, but it is pretty subtle. At the same time I bought the Surrat Beauty Relevee Lash Curler. In the past I have used the Shu Umera curler but I don't think they sell it in the U.S. anymore, and I need things IMMEDIATELY so I tried this new one. NOT A FAN! I think it is too flat for my eyes. Although, I have not been following their very explicit instructions: "Apply it as close to the lash line as comfortably possible and give it a gentle squeeze. Then, pull it out about a millimeter and give it another gentle squeeze, then one more millimeter and a final squeeze. That’s three gentle squeezes in total." Thanks Surrat. That is three squeezes. Incidentally, that's how Junebug and I start our days. Nonetheless the packaging is very serious.
Oh a nice box. Very nice.
I see, it's a sleeve! A fancy cardboard sleeve with a nice box inside. Seems unnecessary, but sure.
YOU GUYS ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
This eyelash curler is not messing around. Anyway, here's some pictures:
1. No makeup or anything. Except yes, I did just get my eyebrows threaded for the first time ever, thank you for noticing!
2. Here I have this undereye concealer on. I'm still desperate for a good undereye concealer! I saw these two pictures side by side and was like, ooh actually that's pretty good. And then I realized the lighting was different. Do you know how difficult it is to take four eyeball selfies in a row with minimal deviation?
3. Curled and mascaraed. Blogger is telling me mascaraed is a word so I'm going with it. Not bad, right? I'm not a fan of the Surrat curler compared to the Shu Umera one, but it's definitely better than nothing.
4. Two coats of mascara. Arguably worse than #3, somehow.
So while I really like the effect of the Diorshow mascara, what I REALLY love is that it doesn't clump. It does not clump! Neither #3 nor #4 involved me combing at all. This is so key for me, because I am lazy and adding an extra 30 seconds to my makeup routine to comb out clumps is unacceptable. But seriously, when mascara clumps sometimes there's just no undoing it, and then you blink and it's up on your eyebrow, then you try to get that off and just smudge it across your nose, and next thing you know you look like Bert from Mary Poppins.
Maybe that's just me.
What else is new? After some serious raving by my BFF Kyle (not myself) I bought this Josie Maran Coconut Water Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape. Very sheer and dewy, and more staying power than you'd think from a gel. Two thumbs up!
I also recently bought Living Proof Dry Shampoo and the Curl Defining Styling Cream. The jury is still out on the styling cream but I DO like the dry shampoo, and it probably is the best I've used. But, I just don't know if it is good enough to justify the cost. And as with most dry shampoos, it goes really quickly. Then again, I haven't washed my hair with water in six weeks, so... (Note - this is a joke. But could very easily not be a joke.) Speaking of curly hair I bought a microfiber towel for my hair, because supposedly the loops on a regular towel will frizz up your hair. I bought mine from Aquis. Really I'm just desperate for something that will help air dry my hair faster, and if my hair looks better then I'll take it! It actually says to just wear the towel until your hair dries, but I'd literally be wearing it all day I think. As it is it takes it at least 8 hours to dry completely. Any curly haired gals out there ever try the plop method? Every time I try I fail miserably and abandon it in frustration. The one time I did get it secured Russell laughed at me so much I took it out. I mean, I get it. I did look like Toad.
Now for my favorite part of any day ... things that I hate! Sally Hanson Miracle Gel. I do NOT understand this stuff. It doesn't work, on any level. Zero claims are accurate. It's not super shiny like gel, and it doesn't last any longer. So basically it's exactly like any normal nail polish as far as I can tell. I've even watched YouTubes on how to apply it - that's how sure I was just not understanding how to do it. I want so badly to like this stuff but I just don't, and I'm furious at Sally for even trying to pretend this stuff is anything other than the poser it is.
Tidbits:
1. One of my favorite food bloggers, who I think I've mentioned before, posted her November beauty favorites. This girl is a total product junky so I love her lists.
2. We can go off script, right? Two major denim recommendations. First is for the short ladies in the crowd. Anything Pilcro! These have a regular length option too but the short is the perfect length on me. This may be the only pair of jeans that I don't feel like I need to hem or tailor in any way. I discovered these when Carey got me an Anthropologie gift card and instructed me to only use it on Pilcro jeans. I'm not sure that's how gift cards work but I'm glad I listened! Also I love love James Jeans, but I do have to hem them. I have a few older pairs in bootcut (so like, really old) and finally bought a new pair after one of them split right in the crotch (RIP). It's a tough sell (buy?) because they are pricey, but they are worth it.
3. Lastly, Amanda wrote about these a while back and I just have to circle back to it: Wet'n'Wild MegaSlicks Balm Stain. I bought one, put it on at home, and promptly dropped it behind the toilet. But it's ok because they're like $2.00 each so I just bought another one, like a boss!
