Month: December 2014

Birchbox - Vanity Affair

Picking Apart Birchbox’s Limited Edition Vanity Affair Box

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‘Cause that’s how I roll. I mainly wanted this Birchbox Vanity Affair Box ($98) because it had a Birchbox-exclusive MAKE Colour palette called Calypso that had eight eyeshadows (!) which I don’t believe has happened yet. They usually have a lip color mixed in with the shadows. Anyway, the palette itself ($40) is available on Birchbox, but I was interested in a lot of the items in the Vanity Affair box, too. After a lot of deliberation (like weeks, OK?), I gave in. I figured I could pick the box apart and give some items as gifts. So, this post isn’t technically an unboxing, since this is an incomplete box. I set aside three items for gifts: the Maison Caulières Perfumed Bath Oil (which sounds awesome but I don’t have a tub), the Stephanie Johnson Tinseltown Jewelry Tray (which I know someone else will enjoy more), and the TOCCA Eau de Parfum Margaux (which I think my grandma will like a lot).

Currently Obsessed: Aromateria

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OK, so I’ve just written up a post on my main blog, Nothing Spaces, where I went on and on… and on about Aromateria. Aromateria is a local brand that makes solid perfumes. I was such a big fan of LUSH’s solid perfumes, annoying packaging aside, and I particularly liked Dirty, which is incidentally such a clean and fresh scent. I first heard about Aromateria from Sheena, who Instagrammed a few scents two years ago. I know both Eliza and Wiji are fans, too.

New Old Face No. 1

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Introducing New Old Face, in which I test out new products in conjunction with old favorites that I came back to. Here’s t first “New Old Face,” feat. NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadows and a MAC Lustre Lipstick that has been a longstanding favorite. (I seriously don’t know why people don’t talk about this shade more often.) NEW BASES I’ve got a new base and concealer in use here: the Happy Skin Cosmetics Zit Zapper Second Skin Cream and the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser. The Happy Skin cream only comes in one shade, which was too light for my liking when I first got it a a few months ago, and I have the Maybelline concealer in Medium.

Too Cool for School Glam Rock Urban Shadows

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Two of my purchases from Seoul were these Glam Rock Urban Shadows from Too Cool for School. I got a dirty olive in a satin finish (13 Viva Green) and a frosty light peach (3 Peach Glow). They are very easy colors to wear, apply, and pair together. The texture of the shadows is smooth, but not so soft and buttery that it goes all over the place. They crease on me without a primer, but so do all other eyeshadows, except for Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes.

On not giving a shit:

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When I first got into makeup, I didn’t think it would make me think this hard. I know that’s kinda funny, but it’s true. I’ve had many episodes of what felt like existential crises, all thanks to something that most people would deem frivolous and shallow. And OK, maybe these personal observations and this “”inner turmoil”” are pretty petty in the grand scheme of things… but even deeming that shallow is part of what brings about this line of questioning. Let me explain: Makeup and beauty have always been linked to vanity even if we, as beauty lovers and enthusiasts, know that that’s not always the case. Still, this outside judgement somehow makes me feel guilty, sometimes, even about just merely liking makeup. One of my earliest posts, Makeup Raves from the Unlikeliest, kind of delves into that incongruity of my apparent personality and this sudden interest in makeup. There is a stigma attached to makeup that automatically stamps people who are into it as rilly, rilly shallow and ditzy people. Then, I feel really …

5 Product Face No. 7 - Products

5 Product Face No. 7

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Nature Republic By Flower Auto Eyebrow in 2 // NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger // Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes in E106 // K-Palette 1 Day Magic Liquid Eyeliner* // 3CE Powdery Lip & Cheek in Pink One Piece A rather spring-appropriate 5 Product Face in the winter—oops. I used several new products in my arsenal in this look and I’m excited to share my initial thoughts on them. A quick note, though: these photos were taken about 6 or 7 hours after application and only the cheek/lip color was reapplied.

November Favorites & December Goals

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Happy December! Time for my November Favorites. 🙂 I have quite a few, even though November was a month of trying a lot of new things. Anyone else victimized by Black Friday/Cyber Monday insanity? I’m afraid I went ahead and got a bit of new things. It’s mostly Christmas shopping, but perhaps that’s my own rationalization of my spendiness. On to the favorites! My skin care routine got a bit jumbled up because of my last BNT Girls mission, but it’s been pretty standard besides that.