the exchange | /r/indiemakeupandmore autumn 2014

I am assuming that most if not all of you are familiar with reddit, that site of intrigue and lols. I have been a redditor for nearly two years and, thanks to the lovely users over at /r/Indiemakeupandmore, have discovered the world of indie cosmetics. /r/IMaM is a very friendly community of both makers and consumers. Shop owners, like Christine of Hello Waffle, interact with customers and share their own favorite products from other shops. Think of it as the social counterpart to Etsy.

This autumn, /r/IMaM held a global makeup exchange, and I signed right up! I've previously participated in an exchange on /r/MakeupAddicts and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was paired with a woman from Australia, and she sent me the loveliest assortment of things!

fragrance

As you can see, I received a sample and a full-sized fragrance, both of which smell divine. Haus of Gloi's Olde Cider Haus is autumnal to the nth degree—tart apples and magic. Firebird's Pomegranate Basil, however, is a lush, herbal fruity concoction with a touch of currant. As I typically use parfum or cologne, I enjoyed a different vehicle for the scent. Both oils melt right into the skin without the harshness of alcohol.

makeup

I have wanted to try Femme Fatale Cosmetics for months now. The Australian-based brand carries beautifully complex eyesahdows, and The Masquerade in particular caught my attention. My exchange partner also sent me eyeshadows in Moonstone, Wildvine, and Umberhowl, all of which are multidimensional duochromes except for gorgeously shimmery Umberhowl. Love. She also included a blush sample in Radar Love and eyeshadow samples in Heroic and Crystalline Scale.

candy

Candy is one of my favorite things to include in exchanges, so I was definitely excited to receive some. I haven't tried all the taffies, but I've liked the ones I've tried so far. The musk sticks to the far right are so bizarre! They taste like slightly fruity, perfumed marshmallow-taffy. Tim Tams are possibly my favorite sandwich biscuits. If you haven't tried them before and are a chocolate fan like myself, do yourself a favor and locate some Tim Tams.

bonus bunny

My lovely exchange partner also made me a bunny! It is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful gifts I've received. I know my partner put a lot of time and effort into the little guy, and I am so chuffed with it!

Thank you so much to my lovely exchange partner. Have you ever participated in a makeup exchange? What are your favorite online beauty communities?

the editorial | why i'm not participating in no makeup november

Ah, November. A month full of playing in autumn leaves, celebrating Thanksgiving, and shaming young Christian women for wearing makeup.

Wait, what?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with No Makeup November, it's an outreach program of sorts offered by RAVE Ministries, which caters to young women, particularly in the United States. I personally know people who either currently work or have worked with them, and the overwhelming impression that I have from them is a good one. Let me be clear: I believe that RAVE has made a positive impact in the lives of many young women, but No Makeup November, while well-intentioned, makes a moral issue where there is none.

Obviously, we live in a very façade-centered culture. We are bombarded day in and day out by advertisements calling us to spend more, look more, be more, and we often succumb. We women are told that our worth comes from our appearance and that our "flaws" are shameful. The Apostle Peter addresses this in his call to the women of the Church:

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
—1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV

True beauty comes from within, an adage that we have heard again and again—but it is indeed true. If our worth comes from "outward adornments," then there is a problem, just as there would be one if we based our worth solely on acceptance from others.

The biggest problem that No Makeup November, then, is not its focus on true beauty, but that "say[ing] YES to God-given beauty" is synonymous with abstaining from makeup. It reminds me of how smug I felt this time two years ago, sensing a sort of solidarity with the other girls who showed up to class barefaced. I convinced myself that I was somehow morally superior for not applying mascara or concealer, when in reality I had made a moral issue of something superficial at its core and was mentally congratulating myself for a nonexistent ethical victory. I had removed artificial enhancements to my physical beauty but, in doing so, had inhibited my inner beauty. By November 3, I was back to wearing makeup, stepping away from judging my peers and toward cultivating a gracious spirit.

If you are excited to participate in No Makeup November, then I encourage you to do so. For some young women, it can be a time of remembrance. For me, though, it reminds me how much further we have to go to stop shaming women not only for our "flaws" but also for concealing them.

Regardless of where you stand on No Makeup November—if you even have an opinion on the subject at all—I wish you a month of joy and peace and thanksgiving. Let us all be gracious to each other, loving each other beyond the façade, whether literal or figurative.

the update | where i am

Hello, folks!

If you're wondering where I've been, let me reassure you that all is well: I've just been especially caught up in work and coursework.

I've never been fantastic at time management, but I am a perfectionist, so this semester has been quite the lesson in learning how to let it go.

I want to give this blog the dedication it deserves, so over the next couple of weeks I will attempt to get ahead in my writing. I have a LORAC and Urban Decay smackdown on board as well as some of my top picks for autumn, so stay tuned for those.

As always, feel free to let me know what you want to see on the blog. I want this to be a place of self-expression and conversation about beautiful things of all forms.

the forum | changing seasons + halloween

Welcome back to another monthly forum! I realize that I skipped last month, so this time, I'm asking you about two topics.

First of all, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing the fading of summer, while our friends in the Southern Hemisphere are gearing up for warmer temperatures. How are you planning to celebrate the changing seasons? I, for one, am brewing more tea than ever and relishing every chance to break out the slouchy sweaters and ankle boots!

Second, how are you planning to celebrate Halloween this year? Have you picked out a costume? I have both a Dead Authors Party and Halloween night in mind. For the former, I'm going as Joan Green as my beloved John Green frequently advocates the death of the author—it's a stretch, mind you, but I'm ecstatic for it! For Halloween itself, I'm going as Lorde, the queen of cool. Never will my eyeliner skills be so tested as October 31.

Let's get talking in the comments below!

the favorites | september 2014

Hello, beautiful people! Long time, no blog!

I'm a bit late this time for favorites, but I thought I'd kick off October with a collection of things that I've enjoyed using for the past month.

makeup

I made a rediscovery this month in the Naked Basics palette from Urban Decay. This is exactly what it sounds like, a perfectly neutral palette with five matte shades and one satin highlight. Walk of Shame and Naked2 are my personal favorites; I'd be perfectly happy if Urban Decay released a duo of just those shades.

Another rediscovery has been my Make Up For Ever Full Cover concealer in Pink Porcelain. I use it primarily as a spot concealer, and it works brilliantly for that. Plus, on days when I want the lightest base possible, it blends out beautifully.

I've played with brows more this month after a triumphant location of my Anastasia Brow Wiz in Taupe, which I thought I'd lost in May. I don't fill in my brows all that often as they're pretty full as is, but this helps me out when I do.

Finally, new in this month are the LORAC Pro palette and Darling Girl Glitter Glue. The former I got to treat myself after a particularly thorough destash when a 20% off code was available; the latter I got to help my indie shadows stay on my lids. Both have been quality investments so far: the LORAC shadows are richly pigmented and blend very nicely, and the Glitter Glue has actually convinced Mother of Dragons to stick around for longer than an hour. I'm very impressed with both of these items and expect to get plenty of use out of them.

fashion

I don't know the brand of my adorable bunny watch, but I wanted to share it anyway. My roommate got it for me over the summer as I love bunnies and am notorious for my tardiness. This little guy hops around on my wrist about every other day, and I love it!

tea

My lovely roommate introduced me to Zhena's Red Lavender tisane at the beginning of the month, and I am so grateful for that. As the name suggests, it's a blend of rooibos and lavender, which when combined provide a cup of relaxing antioxidants. It's lightly sweet on its own, but it also goes well with a tiny bit of raw sugar. I can't recommend this enough and will buy my own canister when I see it in stores.

What were your favorites during September?

the concert | lorde

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a historic show for one of our generation's most gifted voices, the perpetually mind-blowing Lorde.

She performed at the Grand Ole Opry, a world-famous venue as well as one she mentioned loving. She stood on the stage where she imagined the Man in Black performing decades ago and gave an understated but enchanting performance.

I have loved Lorde ever since last June, when one of my good friends introduced me to "Royals," so hearing that she was coming to Nashville was a dream come true. As you can see, I sat way up in the balcony, but it gave me a good vantage point. Everyone at the concert was polite for the most part, and the Grand Ole Opry really is one of the best venues I've attended.

I don't want to give too much away in case you're going to one of the later spots on the tour, but know that if you are going, you're going to have a great time!

Have you gone to any concerts recently?

the face | great scott

Today, I thought I'd try something a little different. Let me know how you like the change in image formatting!

This morning, my dear friend Scott did my makeup. I did my own base—my standard cocktail of Hourglass Veil mineral primer, NARS Pure Radiant tinted moisturizer in Terre Neuve, NARS Radiant Creamy concealer in Chantilly, and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light—with a light dusting of NARS blush in Mistinguette, and Scott contoured my cheekbones with Illamasqua Hollow. Scott has a fondness for bold hues and smokey eyes, so he dipped into the Urban Decay Naked and Naked3 palettes, using the shades Toasted, Creep, Mugshot, Blackheart, and Dust. Even over my favorite NARS Smudge Proof eyeshadow base, you can see that they have creased after roughly seven or eight hours of wear.

The lips, though, are where it gets even more fun: Scott used Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics's famous lip tar in Technopagan—what a name!—with some Butch dabbed in the middle. I haven't yet reapplied the now-discontinued Butch since eating as I wanted to show off Technopagan for the purposes of this post. I understand the appeal of the lip tar formula: it's not too drying, and it stays decently put throughout the day. I did need to reapply after failing to eat nachos neatly, but I actually enjoy the process of reapplying.

Metallic navy is a departure from the norm for me, and I'm loving it! I've received several compliments throughout the day, but, more importantly, I got to spend time with a friend and try something different.

What beauty experiments have you tried with your friends?

the rediscovery | bourjois color boost lip crayon

For those of us who love beauty in the United States, we have it pretty good. Prices here are relatively low, and we have a truly overwhelming variety of products available to us.

There are a few brands, though, that are much harder to find in the States that our friends across the pond can find in every Boots and Superdrug around. Among these covetable brands is Bourjois, one of my favorite drugstore brands that I finally got to play with when I studied abroad last fall. While I was living in the United Kingdom, Bourjois's Color Boost lip crayons took the high street by storm: just about every beauty blogger was featuring them, and nary a negative review was to be found.

I ended up buying one of every shade except Orange Punch throughout my time in England, although I've given away or had to throw away all but one of them: Red Sunrise. A lovely sheer-medium red with pink undertones, it's a no-fuss balmy lipstick in the vein of your typical chubby stick. I have to be careful while eating with it on, but it fades beautifully, and it feels comfortable on the lips. It doesn't last for ten hours on me as the long-faded packaging would claim, but it does last well with only minor touchups needed if I eat or drink a lot of tea.

If you live in the States, these babies will cost you about the same as a lipstick (before shipping, that is), and I think they're worth it. I heartily recommend these if you're interested in a comfortable, balmy lip color that's fairly easy to maintain.

the favorites | august 2014

It's time once again to talk about my favorite products from the past month!

makeup

I decided not to mention favorites from last month as you'd quickly tire of my waxing poetic for the NARS Pure Radiant tinted moisturizer. This month has been a month of rediscoveries and new discoveries: I bought the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Extra Light Bisque last fall, but I didn't get the hang of it until recently. I just dab a bit of this on the inner corners of my eyes—wherever I am bluest—and follow it up with my beloved NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly. 

As far as new products go, I made a bit of a haul a couple of weeks ago to pick up the Kat Von D Tattoo liner and the Hourglass Veil mineral primer. Both of these have turned out to be holy grail products for me: the liner is brilliant to use, and the primer suits my base of choice perfectly. Additionally, I won a giveaway on /r/MakeupAddicts and received a box of goodies, including this exclusive blush from Hello Waffle in But At Least I'll Look Pretty. Although I received it for free, I'd happily pay for this. I'm unfamiliar with loose blush formulas, but this one is soft and gorgeous: imagine MAC Syrup in blush form.

skincare

As summer is starting to wind down—at least in theory here in the South—I'm beginning to get back into my more moisturizing products. The CeraVe Hydrating cleanser has thoroughly impressed me so far with its creamy, non-foaming, and non-irritating formula. I've only had this for about the last couple of weeks, but I am chuffed so far.

tea

Ah, tea: the elixir of life! I drink tea regularly, but since I've moved back on campus, I've been guzzling the stuff. Barry's Tea Gold Blend is my favorite! I've been drinking it since I first picked it up in Dean & DeLuca three-and-a-half years ago. It brews beautifully with milk: it's robust but never bitter. It's becoming easier and easier to acquire, too, at least in the States, so snap some up the next time you see it.

What have your favorites been this month?

the forum | youtube

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the forum!

This time, we're talking about YouTube.

As you may have seen, I posted my first beauty video on YouTube this past Sunday. This made me wonder if you watch beauty videos on YouTube and, if so, whom you watch.

For my part, I'm a huge fan of Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup, Lily Pebbles, Alix from icovetthee, Karima McKimmie, and the illustrious Lisa Eldridge. YouTube has been a huge part of my love for makeup: it keeps me informed about upcoming releases and shows me new techniques for what I already have. Online video on the whole fascinates me: it's an up-and-coming industry with the truly unique advantage of allowing anyone to create content.

Which beauty channels do you follow?

What lifestyle-related content would you like to see from me on YouTube?